England heading for defeat on pitch branded a ‘stinker’
CONTROVERSY surrounding the pitch and umpiring decisions continued in Chennai yesterday, as England headed towards defeat in the second Test against India.
The hosts had by far the better of the first two days to lead by 249 runs. There has been elaborate turn in evidence from the first session but while England were bowled out for 134, India made 329 and began day three on 54 for one.
Former Australia batsman Mark Waugh described the surface as ‘unacceptable’, while ex-England captain Michael Vaughan said: ‘The pitch is a stinker for Test cricket.’
England batting coach Graham Thorpe said: ‘It’s a very challenging surface, that’s what I’m going to say. In terms of me commenting on the pitch, that’s for someone above me to look at.’
Another source of frustration for England has been the umpiring, with two dubious pieces of decision-making by third umpire Anil Chaudhary on day one followed with another contested verdict yesterday. England were sure Rohit Sharma offered no shot when padding up to Moeen Ali, referring an lbw appeal to DRS.
Chaudhary dismissed the shout when the impact was shown to be outside off stump, relying on the umpire’s assumption Rohit’s wellhidden bat was playing a stroke.
ENGLAND were heading for a seemingly inevitable second-Test defeat to India, who outplayed the tourists with both bat and ball in turning conditions on the second day in Chennai.
After dismissing the hosts for 329 in the first hour Joe Root’s side were taken down for just 134, their lowest ever first-innings score in India.
Only Ben Foakes was able to negotiate fiendishly difficult conditions against a quality attack led by the relentless Ravichandran Ashwin, with his 42 not out ensuring England could not be asked to follow on.
But a 195-run lead placed all the cards in India’s favour as they look to level the series at 1-1 and they finished the day 249 runs in front after reaching stumps on 54 for one.
The nature of the wicket continues to generate plenty of heat among fans and pundits, but after six sessions it was beyond argument the hosts had used it more productively.
Foakes, playing his first Test in two years in place of the rested wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, admitted the pitch was a challenge but insisted it was one England simply had to rise to if they wanted to win the four-Test series.
‘It was extremely difficult (against) a pretty high-quality spin outfit and the pitch was playing a few tough tricks, so all in all it was a really tough day,’ said the 27-year-old.
‘I was just trying to play it late, because the ball was taking the top of the surface and it’s spitting quite a lot.
‘It was almost accepting that if one hit me on the glove fair enough, but I tried to stick to my game plan as if I was playing on a normal wicket and react if possible.’ On the task ahead when England come around to their second innings, he added: ‘We’ve got to try and apply ourselves.
‘It’s not going to get any easier and balls are going to spit past us and keep low, but we’ve got to play within our own limits and put pressure on the bowlers when we can.’
Ashwin, who took figures of five for 43, denied the surface unfairly favoured the bowlers, saying: ‘Time and again, there are conditions which will challenge you, be it spin or seam.
‘If the ball is moving around at 145150k and takes off the deck, that has to be more challenging than someone bowling at 85-90k when the ball is spinning. Clearly the challenges are way greater than when you come up against spin.’
On the best way for batsmen to counter the dangers, Ashwin added: ‘You have to give it to the bowler, bide your time and then probably cash in on it later. It’s just another form of art.’
the pitch was playing a few tough tricks so all in all it was a really tough day