CHENNAI: Dead rubber or otherwise, England’s lower-order just refuses to roll over. On Friday, India had the hosts on the mat at the end of the first day of the final Test at the Oval, restricting them to 198/7.
And once again, England Houdini- ed themselves to a competitive total on Saturday, courtesy Jos Buttler’s 89 and an infuriating — for India’s speedsters, surely — 38 from Stuart Broad. India’s speedsters have left England’s lower-order batsmen in a tangle on a regular basis, but yet have had to peg away for quite a while before any of those occasions yields a wicket. “Our pacers’ shoulders start to drop if they go wicket-less as the day progresses,” observed former India all-rounder Madan Lal.
“Throughout this tour, they’ve started off with good intensity, but that starts waning if they’re not able to get breakthroughs.” Mohammed Shami’s bowling efforts were a microcosm of that. According to CricViz, the speedster managed to draw 37 false shots in all, but was wicket-less. Nearly every fifth ball bowled by him and his companions in this Test has either beaten the bat or taken an edge.
But by the time England folded for 332, their collective strike rate stood at 91. “That’s the thing. Our pacers have mostly stuck to a good line. But when they don’t get the results they’re angling for, that’s when they start trying too hard and changing things around. Those are the moments when the likes of Buttler and (Sam) Curran have capitalised on.
They need to stick to their strengths — probing line and lengths — instead of experimenting when things don’t go their way.” This vicious “no wicket, lesser intent, no wicket” cycle that India’s speedsters — despite their inspiring record — have gone through against the English tail is summed up by one statistic. During this tour, the hosts’ last-four batsmen have stayed at the crease for over 22 hours.
In stark contrast, their India counterparts have stymied English bowlers for only 12 hours and 41 minutes. Fans need to only skim through their memories of Edgbaston, Lord’s and Rose Bowl to realise how those ten-odd hours of extra batting have manifested themselves. For those seeking to know the real extent of that damage, here’s a number. Buttler, Sam Curran, and Chris Woakes have notched up 749 runs among themselves.
That’s 34.2 per cent of England’s runs. England’s lastfour wickets — which are basically Broad, Adil Rashid, and James Anderson in the company of mostly Buttler or Curran — have fetched them 55.75 runs every innings compared to India’s corresponding statistic of 26.25. The 67-year-old feels that the remedy is to not lift the lid. “After initial wickets, our pacers lose momentum. Rotating the strike doesn’t come easily to tail-enders, and our pacers have let them off the hook. Not giving away easy runs is what they need to do.”
rahul.ravi@newindianexpress.com
Scoreboard
England 1st Innings (o/n 198/7): Buttler c Rahane b Jadeja 89, Rashid lbw b Bumrah 15, Broad c Rahul b Jadeja 38, Anderson not out 0. Extras (b26, lb9) 35. Total (all out, 122 ovs) 332. FoW: 8-214, 9-312. Bowling: Bumrah 30-9-83-3; Sharma 31-12-62- 3; Vihari 1-0-1-0; Shami 30-7-72-0; Jadeja 30-0-79-4. India 1st Innings: Rahul b Curran 37, Dhawan lbw b Broad 3, Pujara c Bairstow b Anderson 37, Kohli c Root b Stokes 49, Rahane c Cook b Anderson 0, Vihari not out 25, Pant c Cook b Stokes 5, Jadeja not out 8. Extras (b4, lb6) 10. Total (6 wkts, 51 ovs) 174. FoW: 1-6, 2-70, 3-101, 4-103, 5-154, 6-160. Bowling: Anderson 11-3-20-2; Broad 11-3-25-1; Stokes 11-1-44-2; Curran 10-1-46-1; Ali 8-0-29-0.