MOHALI : It was the last over of the day. Ravichandran Ashwin, already with two wickets but beginning a new spell, was bowling to Ben Stokes. The ball pitched on middle, turned slightly, missed the bat and clipped the front pad. A vociferous appeal was turned down by the umpire.
With one review already down the drain, India could ill-afford to waste another, with 42 overs remaining for them to be refilled. Kohli, Parthiv Patel and Ashwin, in a group involving six people, gathered to talk. Moments later, the captain reviewed. He shrugged at his own decision as if to say, ‘let’s just give this a try’.
India will be glad he went with his instinct, as DRS overturned the decision. Kohli, and there has been some needle going on between Stokes and him, looked at someone in the pavilion and did a fingers-on-the-lips sign. With that wicket, the hosts were firmly in control, and Ashwin was the star man with the ball again. Alastair Cook was bowled with an absolute peach. It pitched on off stump, deceived the England skipper, who was playing for the turn, and disturbed the stumps.
Moeen Ali was as comfortable as Bambi on ice, and perished soon after. But it was the Stokes wicket that has really put India in complete command of the Test.
There seems to be a gulf between how the pitch has behaved for the Indian and England spinners. It’s looked threatening for the former, and docile for the latter. Ravindra Jadeja tried to explain why. “In my opinion,” he said, “in Test cricket, it all depends on the situation. If your team has the upper hand, obviously the opposing team will struggle. Like when we went to England, their spinners looked like (Muttiah) Muralitharan.
“Whichever team has the upper hand, their bowlers will look threatening, their batsmen very good,” Jadeja said.
Jonny Bairstow, said England still harbour hopes of a fightback. “There’s still a fair bit of batting to come,” he said.