India vs England | Winners and losers ft. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ian Bell and Keaton Jennings

09/03/2018

Yet again India failed to make any sort of statement of “intent” in the fourth innings and despite a brief promise by Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane in the middle, England cantered to a series victory. However, the match will have a lot of significance for Cheteshwar Pujara and Ian Bell.

Winners:

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara isn't really a 'Talker' but if he was, he might have gone on to Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli to ask for an explanation as to why he had been dropped form the Edgbaston Test. And this Test was an emphatic statement from Pujara. Whilst the Saurashtra batsman is hardly one to play passive aggressive shots, you can imagine that at times this series has felt like the game has been going along far, far too quickly for him. But he knew that patience is the key for him and he shouldn’t change that. And then he came out and played the longest innings of the series, from anyone on either side.

Throughout his Test career, Pujara has often been treated poorly by the Indian selectors so many times and to put the matters into perspective, his return at Lord’s was the fifth time he’s had to make a return to the Test team. However, Pujara has remained loyal to the method - a throwback to the traditional approach of the game - which brought him success in the sub-continent. To understand it better, one thing must be remembered that before this series, Pujara averaged 20% attacking shots in Test cricket and in this series, he has recorded 17%. So it is clear that he returned to the side as the same player, and a little more cautious in tough conditions, which is surely going to help him in future assignments.

Ian Bell

Ian Bell is a fine technician and got one of the best timings in world cricket. And on Thursday, he showed one. When England failed to get going and was reduced to 86/6 reached 20,000 first-class runs on his course to a double century for Warwickshire against Glamorgan. And at a time when Smith is more open for players who are hungry for success, Bell sent all the right messages. However, there is a small blip when you search statistics a bit more. Three of his four Championship centuries have come against a modest Glamorgan attack that is rooted to the bottom of the Division Two table. Take out Glamorgan and he averages a less eye-catching 34.15 and in 2017, when Warwickshire were in Division One, he averaged just 25.91.

But, looking it at the way this English batting order is performing, it is apparent that Bell’s technique and temperament can be a huge boost. The point of this? There aren't quick fixes for the mess in which England finds itself. Recalling Bell may provide some temporary succour and during the time, he will be done again - remember he is 35 now - England can work on finding a proper No. 3 batsman. But, on the looks of it, it is a win-win for Bell - a man whose flair is perfectly suited to the English style of batsmanship.

Losers:

Adil Rashid

When England took on South Africa at home last year, Joe Root described Moeen Ali’s performance as an “add-on" and didn’t take his bowling seriously. However, Moeen knew his own style of answering the critics. When he became the quickest in terms of Tests played England-born allrounder in history to achieve the milestone of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in the Lord’s Test of that series, Root knew who he had in the team. Moeen Ali may not be a match-winner but at home conditions when James Anderson and Stuart Broad breathe fire, as proved in this Test, he can silently take the centre stage.

Moeen endured a tough Ashes where he averaged 115 with the ball and that was sufficient for English selectors to drop him from the team. It was a gentle ridicule for Moeen, who, anyone with the slightest sense of cricketing knowledge will accept, is a far better spinner than Adil Rashid. But like many things with the soft-spoken cricketer, Moeen took it on his stride and bowled with panache in the first innings to make sure that he has another day to live. Now, Kennington Oval will wait for the off-spinner as he will try to settle his position in the team amidst Ed Smith’s over-aggressive approach as a selector. Now, with Rashid failing to perform as per the expectations, it is just a matter of time, Moeen Ali will be back as the No. 1 spinner in the team.

Keaton Jennings

Keaton Jennings doesn’t deserve to be an international opener. Period. It is a fact that doesn’t come out of frustration or impatience rather ask anyone those who have followed him in this series, they will have at least one unique technical deficiency point of the batsman to single out. In the first innings, Jennings was concentrating so hard on leaving the ball outside off that he was caught short when one came the other way. But some dismissals are worth more than the one wicket they cost, and this one was the kind that showcased he lacked the mental preparation to play Test cricket.

Rory Burns is the likeliest of the opener to replace Jennings for the next Test and there is a certain unfairness to that. In a dysfunctional batting unit, in which England’s top four are averaging 21.33 each so far this summer, Burns can prove a point and build on the momentum that he created over the last two Championship seasons. This will also provide Jennings a chance to go back to county circuit and hone his skills before returning to international cricket, once again.