Pleased with my show: Bess
CHENNAI: On a day when his spin-bowling partner Jack Leach was taken to the cleaners, England offie Dom Bess asserted his supremacy by piercing through the India batting line-up with a four-wicket haul.
The 23-year-old Bess spun a web around the quartet of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant, which eventually fell pray after dancing to his tune. At stumps on Day Three of the series opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here, the young off-spinner boasted phenomenal figures of four for 55 in 23 overs.
None of the other spinners involved in the Test have cracked the mantra for success so far and that makes his first-innings show even more commendable. “To be honest, I am bowling really well at the moment. I was pretty confident when I stepped on the pitch,” said Bess during the post-day virtual press conference.
In what turned out to be a crucial passage of play, the Exeter-born finger spinner got the prized scalp of India captain Kohli, who inside edged the turning delivery to Ollie Pope at short-leg. Going by his words at the presser, Bess was hugely satisfied with the way he operated against the ‘Fab Four’ member.
“Of course, I looked to get him out. But, it was not about bowling that magical ball. It was more about smashing in 10 to 15 balls in a good area. That is what I was really pleased about. I kept it in the spot and one ball went straight to Pope.” Bess also rated Kohli’s dismissal as one of the best of his career, which is still in its nascent stage.
“It is certainly up there. Kohli is phenomenal and a high-calibre player. He is world-class and one of the best. The wicket has given me a lot of confidence. But, I don’t want to think about it too much in the middle of the game. We have so much to work on,” said Bess.
Courtesy of Bess’s bossy work, England is in a position of dominance with two days left. In reply to the tourist’s mammoth total of 578, the host sits at 257 for six and has plenty of work to do. But, the slow bowler isn’t looking too far ahead.
“We have put ourselves in a very good position. We will come back on Monday and try to finish off India’s first innings. We need to take four more wickets. We know that the games over here speed up quickly. So, we will stick to our processes,” explained Bess.