Victory created a chance in the first T20 match India To capitalize on some lost glory on this tour of England. But even if both white-ball series win, the flop show at the Edgbaston Test will go on for a long, long time.
For a large part, the Test seemed to be the pick for India. But it surprisingly surrendered in the second half of the game with a lower level of batting and bowling.
The defeat came with a chance to win the rubber, which India’s favour, which stood 2-1 when the series was suspended last year due to the Covid scare, resumed last week.
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India was docked two points to put salt on the wound World Also imposed a heavy fine for not meeting the Test Championship rating and required over rate.
After recovering from a poor start thanks to a scintillating century from Rishabh Pant and a solid, attentive century from Ravindra Jadeja, India kept tight control of the match until the first half of the fourth day, before things started to go wrong.
There was no real devil in the pitch on the fourth day, but Ben Stokes, using the short ball to make an impact, launched an extraordinary collapse, taking four wickets for next to nothing in a searing burst. Back in controversy.
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Had India batted till the end of the day, not only would it have a 400-plus lead, but the run chase would have eaten up the time and overs available to England. A draw was good enough for India to win the series, and should have been the main objective when England forced a comeback in the match.
Sadly, in the second innings, India’s batting lacked persistence, wickets fell in heaps, and England suddenly found themselves in a position to put pressure on the Indian team. Victory, which seemed impossible a day ago, now clearly looked possible. However, no one expected it to be an easy move.
Chasing the target of 378 runs in the fourth innings is not easy. Scores slightly higher than this were successfully overhauled in the history of the game. Furthermore, England had scored 284 in the first innings, giving a massive 132-run lead, which shows that even 300 runs in the final innings may be difficult.
The pitch would get worse over time, and India also had a world-class spinner in Ravindra Jadeja to support the prolific pace trio of Bumrah, Shami and Siraj.
But England quelled all such odds with a scintillating attack, and there was much left to win. At one point the score was 109 for three wickets. England looked very weak. But then Joe Root, his purple patch spread well into the second year, and Jonny Bairstow, whose dazzling, counter-attack batting had helped England beat New Zealand 3-0 a little earlier, put together an unbeaten 269-run partnership. Come along Subdued India’s bowlers and quelled their ambition to win the series.
Make no mistake, England was excellent. Head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have infused players with a fresh, aggressive approach that prioritizes victory over everyone else. This is a very exciting way. True with a fair degree of risk, but so far it has worked out brilliantly for England. When a team wins four out of four matches, its methods couldn’t be more argumentative, all while chasing spectacular, fourth innings runs!
But as England played, that didn’t make India’s defeat more enjoyable. True, some obstacles had to be overcome. Rohit Sharma miserably missed out on batting and captaincy. KL Rahul’s absence further weakened the batting, especially as Virat Kohli’s form continues to decline. Yet the team still had enough talent to outperform England, especially after taking a fine first innings lead. India’s inability to take advantage of this advantage and seal the issue was a clear shortcoming in India’s effort.
After the match, a distraught Dravid condoled the Indian team’s repeated failures in the third and fourth innings of Test matches. This was not the first time India had come across a cropper defending a score overseas. In fact, in the last 12 months, it was the fourth such occasion: starting last year with a loss to New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship, when India were favourites, then twice in two Tests with a troubled, and relatively inexperienced South African. against the party about six months ago
When India secured a historic 2-1 Test series win over Australia in 2021, it looked like the team would be unstoppable. He is more or less the same player who has been playing Tests since then, but the results overseas have been unsatisfactory.
In recent weeks, or in the next month or two, all the focus will clearly be on T20 matches, with the World Cup on the horizon which is logical. But this should not obscure the need to excel in red-ball cricket, which most agree is a real test of ability and character. The hard work ahead is here for Dravid.
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