GUWAHATI: Well, at least there was one piece of good news. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, usually the two most overworked Indian cricketers whenever the Test team plays, bowled all of five overs between them and nothing after 9.30 AM. Post that, for over five hours, they didn't bowl.
This, though, wasn't a silver lining in a cloud. It was a silver lining in a Category 5 hurricane. On a day when nothing went right for the hosts — surely one of the most uninspiring days of Test cricket to take place in this country from an Indian perspective — by the time the day was done, they were walking wounded, waiting for the opposition to put them out of this purgatory.
Siraj had to go off the field after an awkward fall while trying to save a four (there was no damage done, thankfully). Rishabh Pant, who has just recovered from a fractured foot, got one of his toes plastered by the physio. More players took breaks as they sought the refuge of the dressing room. It was that kind of day, the kind of hellish day this Indian team hasn't had in a long time.
In the press conference at the end of the day, Ravindra Jadeja basically said attention had turned towards saving this Test. "Drawing this game would be a win-win for us," he said.
He basically confirmed what many people already knew. The hosts, barring a miracle not seen in over 150 years of any organised sport, would be losing a second home Test series in a year. In Tamil culture, there's a very popular meme. When translated into English, it loosely means 'how this family lived once upon a time'.
The mind went to that meme as soon as Jadeja, part of one of India's greatest teams at home and now part of their worst home run this century (if they lose this Test, it will be five losses in nine), threw in the towel with one day remaining.
"As a cricketer," he said, "nobody wants to lose the series, especially in India. So, hopefully, we will try to play our best cricket (on Wednesday). We will try our best foot forward tomorrow. Hopefully, we will try and save the Test match. So that, at least, I know we won't say that we are winning the series. But, at least, we are able to draw the match. And, as I said, it's going to be a win-win situation for us."
WTC implications
That kind of thinking, though, is entirely logical because of the longer-term implications in the World Test Championship. A lot of fans will want the hosts to go in search of the target — for the record, they need a world record chase of 549 to level the series — but that's not entirely practical. A draw will not only give this team four points but will also prevent South Africa, one of their rivals for one of the two top spots, from picking up eight more points for the win.
For so long, this is what India did to visiting teams. Keep the opposition in the field for hour after hour, session after session and tire them out before going at their batting line-up with spinners like attack dogs. It would be relentless, ruthless and thrilling. Now? The boot is on the other foot and the irony is hard to miss.
The apex predator is in the middle of the food chain and fighting for relevance, hoping they don't end up being food in a plate they ate out of for over a decade.
How did it come to this?
Speaking specifically about Tuesday, it was slow and very painful. Death by a 1000 blocks. Death by a 1000 runs. Death by a few boundaries. Just when you thought South Africa were content with what they had, they came out and batted again. Forget groundhog day. Every other minute was groundhog minute. Every other over was groundhog over.
With the pitch lacking any serious bite apart from a phase of play in the first hour, the visitors were very assured. Also, there was no need to panic or play any rash shots because they were so far ahead of the game. And once they declared, they attacked with multiple close-in fielders.
And with the last oodles of natural light streaking across the surface, they knew they could create a dramatic environment. And India obliged, as they lost two wickets, both needless shots. But scoreboard pressure is a different beast.
When Sai Sudharsan and Kuldeep Yadav walk out on Wednesday, they will look up to that electronic scoreboard and see that they still need 522 runs with only eight wickets remaining.
Unfortunately for them, it won't be the stuff of dreams. A nightmare in real time.
