England v India: 1st Test, Day 4 - India’s Collapse Sets Up Last Day

 

England v India: 1^st Test, Day 4

India’s Collapse Sets Up Last Day

November 12^th 2016

At 318-2, moments before the Close on Day 3, the talk was of India pushing on to a huge score and putting England under real pressure on the last day. Two wickets in four balls before the Close gave England a window of opportunity, although one of them was the nightwatchman. Realistically, England needed two wickets in the first hour and they got them. What is more, they were the prize wickets of Rahane and Kohli: the former to Ansari, the latter to Adil Rashid, neither of whom will have given the Indian batsmen many sleepless nights before the series.

After a superb summer in ODIs and an excellent ODI series in Bangladesh, in which he was the main wicket-taking threat, the Bangladesh Tests were not kind to Adil Rashid, who was in danger of making the transition from being a figure of fun to a figure of ridicule. Four wickets in the second innings of the defeat in Bangladesh though seem to have worked wonders for his self-belief; it matters nought that a couple of those wickets were to rank bad balls – the important thing is that wickets give confidence. Almost without anyone noticing, Adil Rashid now has 19 wickets in five and a half Tests: a pretty decent strike rate and a wicket every 70 balls. Similarly, Zafar Ansari had a really rough introduction to Test cricket, but then came back with a couple of good wickets and those have seemed to work wonders for his confidence too.

At the same time, it seems that Alistair Cook is beginning to handle his spinners with more sympathy and empathy. Even when one of the bowlers was hit for a six – and India hit seven of them to England’s five – Cook did not panic and kept faith: having runs in the bank undoubtedly helped.

The result is that India’s three spinners have generated little threat and have so far taken 6-435 in the match. England’s three have combined for 8-276 against arguably a stronger batting line-up.

318-2 became 361-6, with India just past the follow-on: just the sort of mini-collapse that suggests that the last day might get really interesting. India were indebted to the 7^th and 10^th wicket partnerships to get close because 425-6 then became 459-9 in another mini-collapse.

A lead of 49 was at least 50 less than England had hoped. The feeling was that at that stage only India could win. There were plenty of people – and not just Indians – who expected an England collapse and a modest chase on the last day. What has happened is just the opposite: 114-0 at the Close, with Hameed 62* and looking set for a debut century. He is only the third England batsman to score a Test 50 before turning 20 – the last was Denis Compton in 1937 – and one really does wonder why he did not play at least the 2^nd Test in Bangladesh.

England are 163 ahead and looking at a declaration around Lunch. If anyone wonders how the pitch is playing, the last ball of the day pitched in the rough outside leg and flew past the outside edge of Hameed’s bat. Balls from the spinners are pitching on a good length and taking off to chest height. There is plenty of evidence that a bowler could run through a side if he gets the breaks and a bit of luck.

England have made such a solid start that they can afford to take some risks in the morning session. There is also plenty of forcing batting to come. A chase of 280 in around 65 overs would be very interesting with the pitch only likely to get more difficult. Certainly, if England entertain thoughts of winning, they really must have taken an Indian wicket by Lunch, which means giving the bowlers 4 or 5 overs at the Indian openers.