There was dust all around the batsmen. There was prodigious turn. And in between, there were balls that did not turn. It is really sad that the third Test to commemorate a grandiose stadium will be remembered for a Test that was the shortest in post-War era. Whichever way you are aligned and whatever team you support, a Test ending in such a short time before drinks in the final session is bad for the game.
It’s bad because there was no contest, an anathema in sport. The wicket was loaded in favour of spinners. This wasn’t just a case of the English batsmen lacking skill historically weak against spinners but even the hosts were found hopping and poking. Even though Virat Kohli defended saying batsmen from both teams failed to apply themselves, that doesn’t explain how Joe Root, a part-time spinner, took five wickets for eight runs on the second morning. Or hardly an over was bowled by a pacer on the second day.
Another explanation was that the extra lacquer on the pink ball led to skidding without turning and batsmen playing the wrong line — 21 out of 30 dismissals were from straight balls. Playing the wrong line was accentuated by the enormous turn the wicket was offering.
What’s even more intriguing is why India decided to play on turners when their practice has been to play on ‘normal’ subcontinental wickets like the one we saw at Chennai, with the bowlers coming into the game from the third day onwards. Add to the fact that their pace battery, including the reserves, made the country proud by winning a series in Australia only a month ago.
This bunch of cricketers has so much all-round talent. It is unfair to rob them of their accolades at home because of external reasons. In sports, credit should always go to the players for the beauty they create and not the ground or the pitch. Or were India so desperate to make the final of the inaugural World Test Championships? We will never know but one can only hope that India get back to preparing pitches they were doing in the recent past. Because not just victory, even losses on those surfaces will be sweeter and cherished forever.