Bashir tightens the screw as England dominate in Ranchi
India v England, 24th February 2024.
ENGLAND 353 all out (leading by 134 runs)
INDIA 219–7
Commencing day 2 on 302–7, England would stretch their overall advantage on 1st innings by a tick over 50 runs to 353 all out. By the close of play “Stumps” this advantage had shrivelled to 134 runs but in this grandest of all games England’s theoretical “lead” and dominant position in a Test Match they dare not lose had in fact increased, their overnight dominance from day 1 extended, and they will now enter day 3 with the whip hand having had an almost perfect day, a day broken, as is tradition, into three cricketing acts.
Act One: All’s fair in love and (sporting) war
England’s almost perfect day first saw Ollie Robinson taking his overnight not out total of 31 through to his first ever Test Match 50 as he largely dominated the run scoring in his continuing partnership with yesterday’s centurion, Joe Root. Passing a century batting partnership, Robinson became the first of 3 wickets to fall in quick succession to the bamboozling spin of Ravi Jadeja, but the batting group as a whole had accomplished their morning mission of adding 50+ more runs to their 1st innings total. Yesterday’s headliner and centurion Joe Root added 16 runs to his overnight not out total to remain unbowed, unbroken, undefeated and 122 not out. As I said, it was an almost perfect day for England.
With 45 minutes to play until the Lunch Break and a Ranchi crowd growing larger and larger with every passing minute, Indian opening batsmen Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal strode toward the “dried up riverbed” of a wicket under leaden skies more fitting Old Trafford in Manchester and therefore perfect for one of its favourite ever sons. Crowds in India grow quickly in size when their local heroes are batting and perhaps it’s a culture of a wider world of watching cricket. Being ever the contrarian, I prefer watching England when they’re bowling as I’ve watched too many batting collapses to last me a lifetime and being the ex fast bowler of my youth, I love rooting and roaring them on when they have that red cricketing “cherry” in their hand, or more specifically, when James Anderson does.
Burnley born but son of Manchester and Old Trafford Cricket Ground where an “end” is named after him, I’ve watched James Anderson his entire career and every season the 41 year old says he’s going to continue playing Test Match cricket is a season and a reason to be cheerful. His bowling style has been honed to perfection over the years but is still poetry in motion, his Glenn McGrath machine like ability to hit that difficult “length” for batsmen a feat for a legend and the very reason why India captain Rohit Sharma became Anderson’s 697th all-time Test Match wicket today. A perfect delivery from Anderson that kissed the surface before jagging slightly away from the corridor outside Sharma’s off stump that forced him into a defensive prod, and a simple edge through to England wicket-keeper Ben Foakes. Anderson is now 3 wickets shy of joining Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan in the “700 Club” and the third top wicket taker in the entire history of this storied game.
England added 51 runs to extend their lead on 1st innings to 353.
Joe Root remained not out on 122.
Ollie Robinson notched a maiden Test Match 50.
James Anderson delivered the prized wicket of Rohit Sharma.
India rested at the Lunch Break on 34–1 to trail by 319 runs.
It was an almost perfect morning for England.
"Ashes to Ashes" - Available via Amazon
"The Spirit of Cricket" - Available via Amazon
Act Two: Bashir turns the screw for a dominant England
As the floodlights of the JSCA International Stadium now illuminated play beneath ever darkening skies in Ranchi dawn was breaking here in central England, and a piercing sunrise that would soon banish all traces of the bitingly cold overnight frost. A quiet and uneventful passage of play ensued, forcing the ever avuncular Graeme Swann to regale the TV audience with tales of James Anderson’s good natured grumpiness amid the madness of being on tour and the superstitions that once started, can now not be broken. Run machine Yashasvi Jaiswal eased his way to 40 not out before escaping a “catch” that never was (despite the entire England team looking crestfallen when the TV umpire correctly declined their joyous appeal) new partner Shubman Gill had raced to 38 not out from just 65 balls received and at 86–1 on the cusp of the mid-session Drinks Break Jaiswal and Gill enjoyed a rather comfortable and unbroken partnership of 82.
Enter 20 year old Shoaib Bashir.
Rested in Rajkot, Ben Stokes clearly wanted his tall spin bowler involved early in the innings and after an hour of unbroken bowling post the Lunch Break, the 20 year old from Chertsey repaid his captain’s faith with a gem of a wicket, before ripping the heart from the Indian batting order in the second hour of the session. First he trapped Shubman Gill LBW (Leg Before Wicket) with a true wonder of a delivery that I called “out” immediately and way before the TV umpire, a trick and treat both Bashir and I would repeat soon after as he added Rajat Patidar to his list of cricketing victims. Bashir had two brilliantly almost identical wickets, India were slowly crumbling from 86–1 to 112–3 and I clearly missed my vocation as a cricket umpire!
From a serene hour’s play and accumulation of runs, Bashir had turned the session if not the Test Match on its head and on the cusp of the Tea Break he snagged the tamest of dismissals from Ravi Jadeja to leave India reeling at 131–4, still a distant 222 runs behind England on 1st innings. The only Indian batsman immune to Bashir’s bewitching spell of bowling was Yashasvi Jaiswal who rested at the Tea Break 54 not out from 96 balls received. The 22 year old now has over 600 total runs in this series so far and to England’s great delight today, he wouldn’t add many more runs in the day’s third and final session.
Act Three: Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav come to India’s rescue
Jaiswal added 19 further runs before becoming Bashir’s 4th wicket of the innings, starting a mini batting collapse of sorts, as well as unluckily highlighting the precarious nature of this Ranchi wicket. “The defences of Jaiswal have been broken” proclaimed Nick Knight on TV commentary and they had, but a large slice of luck resides in Bashir’s delivery barely bouncing before catching an under edge from Jaiswal’s bat and back onto his stumps behind him. England had indeed broken the defences of their hosts and with India sliding from 161–4 to 171–6 and 177–7 they were in serious jeopardy of being bowled out before the close of play and still 175+ runs behind their visitors 1st innings total.
The final session’s final 2 wickets belonged to Bashir’s “spin twin” partner Tom Hartley who was indebted to a wonderful flying and diving catch from Joe Root at 1st Slip to account for Sarfaraz Khan before he flummoxed Ravi Ashwin 6 runs later and yet another dismissal via LBW. I gave Ashwin out immediately and correctly (I did tell you I should have been an umpire!) and at 177–7 India were deep in the mire and England spinning them all out in just over 2 sessions of play. That they didn’t falls squarely upon the joint efforts of Dhruv Jurel (30 not out) and Kuldeep Yadav (17 not out) and they will return in the morning with their partnership standing at an unbroken 42 and their team 134 runs behind on 1st innings with 3 wickets in hand.
So tomorrow will begin with that always pleasing “important first hour” of the day and should Jurel and Yadav add significant runs to their overnight not out totals and reduce England’s lead to well below 100, then we’ll be approaching an even game. But should today’s headliner Shoaib Bashir add to his tally of wickets or James Anderson creep ever nearer the “700 Club” in the opening minutes of play, England may well have a 100 run lead on 1st innings, and a suitably dominant match position befitting the Test Match so far.
See you at 3.30am under the fullest of moons and our first cup of tea of the day?