India's test of supremacy

With 1-0 lead, Kohli & Co look to strengthen their grip in the third Test at Headingley.
Indian Cricket Team (Photo | AP)
Indian Cricket Team (Photo | AP)

CHENNAI: The second day of the third Test at Headingley in Leeds – August 26 – will mark exactly 19 years to the day since India completed a storied win over England at this venue. That heady victory in the English summer of 2002, crafted under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly amid the heroics of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar among others, was a turning point in changing the perception of Indian cricket for the better and remains etched in the minds of many generations of Indian cricket fans.

As Team India returns to the county of Yorkshire for a Test for the first time since then, there has been a significant transformation in Indian cricket of course. Back in 2002, Ganguly’s boys were not just looking to level the series after a thrashing at Lord’s but also seeking to turn over a new leaf and establish that they were a force away from home too. They managed to do that with some success – as victories at Adelaide, Johannesburg and Perth in the next few years would testify – and provided a foundation for the current bunch to build on.

India’s victory on the final day at Lord’s last week was special alright, but such wins are no longer one-off occurrences and aren't celebrated with the grand fervour that they garnered in the past. Especially having scripted a series win for the ages against a full-strength Australia earlier this year, nothing less than a series win in England would satisfy a team that is looking to stamp its imprint all around the cricketing globe.
For that to materialise, Virat Kohli and his boys will be sensing a great opportunity at Headingley. Given that the current England team largely has fond memories of the venue – it is where Ben Stokes unleashed his pyrotechnics against Australia in the Ashes a couple of years ago – a victory for the Indians here would deflate the hosts like little else. There is no Stokes to come to England’s rescue this time, nor do they have the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood (out of the third Test). It is a depleted England unit for sure, but this Indian team certainly doesn’t think it would be impeded even if it was coming up against the hosts’ strongest XI.  

“Even when the key players are playing, we think we can beat anyone in the world. We don’t wait for the opposition to be weak. That’s not how we play and approach every series,” Kohli declared on the eve of the third Test.

Kohli’s focus, instead, is more on the nature of the surface on offer at Leeds and the combination that will serve them best. On Tuesday, he kept his cards close to his chest. While he initially indicated that there is no reason to change a winning combination, he changed tack in response to another query.  

“We got no reason to change anything unless people have niggles. We haven’t encountered that. Obviously, you don’t want to disturb a winning combo especially when the team has celebrated an incredible win in the second Test,” he said, before keeping the door open for Ashwin’s inclusion. “As far as Ash goes, we are quite surprised to see how the pitch looks. I thought there will be more grass and it will be more spicy or lively. But it isn’t the case. We will choose the XI also depending on what the pitch could become on the third or fourth day.”

Regardless of the choice of personnel, they have all the armoury to strengthen their hold on the series and leave Headingley with a 2-0 lead. If they do so and show no mercy as frontrunners, it will also indicate how far Indian cricket has come since their previous win at Headingley 19 summers ago.

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