Jack of Ball Trades spells doom for India
CHENNAI: At first glance, India’s fourth innings score of 192 in pursuit of 420 against England may not look as dire as the 36 all out debacle in Adelaide, but the ramifications will be just as profound following a meek surrender that brought back ghastly memories of India’s 100 all out in Mumbai against the same opponent 15 summers ago.
If it was a journeyman off-spinner in Shaun Udal who emerged as an unlikely hero on that fateful day in March 2006, it was the turn of a bald-pated and bespectacled Jack Leach to perform India’s final rites against a desolate backdrop that was perfectly in tune with the grisly events that unfolded on Tuesday.
The logic-defying success that India had achieved in Australia a few weeks ago lent credence to the maxim that hope springs eternal vis-à-vis the current Indian team. And that there was nothing more imprudent than to write off a talented bunch of individuals who were “seemingly” equipped with an answer to every challenge thrown at them.
But after witnessing another familiar tale of collapse in conditions that were nowhere near as adverse as what they had encountered down under, this galling defeat will cast a shadow over the team combination chosen for this match. In hindsight, would captain Virat Kohli have opted for Kuldeep Yadav over Shahbaz Nadeem?
No was the emphatic reply from Kohli. “When you are playing two off-spinners, Kuldeep more or less becomes a similar kind of spinner (bringing it into the right-handers). So, we needed variety. We were quite clear what combination we wanted to play, and there are no regrets whatsoever.”
Heading into the final day, there were bold proclamations emanating from the Indian dressing room about pulling off an improbable chase. One might argue that the confidence wasn’t entirely misplaced considering the team’s sequence of exploits in Australia.
However, it wasn’t long before India was forced to rethink its strategy having lost a clutch of wickets with not many runs to show for. Let alone winning, even surviving the day’s play proved beyond its reach. When guns were trained at his deputy, Ajinkya Rahane, for a string of low scores since the match-winning century in Melbourne, Kohli was quick to leap to his defence.
“Look I got bowled as well. If you are trying to dig something out, you are not going to get it because there is nothing. Ajinkya, I have said this many a time in the past as well.
“Along with (Cheteshwar) Pujara, he is our most important Test batsman and he continues to be as we believe in his abilities and he is an impact player,” observed Kohli.
Despite the unavailability of a few seasoned campaigners in Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja due to injuries, the India skipper refused to hide behind a fig leaf of excuses. “They (Shami and Jadeja) are not here so whether they could have or would have is irrelevant. Look we are not a side that gets into ‘what ifs’ or ‘what could have been’. In one game, if the execution hasn’t happened, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen again. We have to keep believing in the process and not think of what this player or that player could have done,” remarked Kohli.