G. Krishnan
Hyderabad, Jan 29:
India had the chance to stretch the game to the final day on Monday and even win. At the scheduled close of play on Day 4 on Sunday, India were 177 for 8 chasing 231 to win, 54 behind the target.
Chennai’s Ravichandran Ashwin and wicketkeeper K.S. Bharat had just put on a vital 57 runs for the eighth wicket. Both played the attacking England spinners brilliantly, defending when required and were in no hurry to go for the boundary shots. Bharat, however, was bowled by debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley for 28, the ball turned after pitching and beat the defensive outside edge and hit the off-stump. That gave Hartley his fifth wicket.
Hartley went on to take two more wickets to finish with 7 for 62 in the innings and nine for 193 for the match. When the clock struck 5 p.m., and India eight down, Ashwin had No. 10 Jasprit Bumrah for company and No. 11 Md Siraj to come.
Umpire Chris Gaffaney, walking in from square-leg position to take his spot behind the bowling crease, checked with England umpire Ben Stokes if he wanted to claim the extra half-hour as England needed only two wickets for a win.
Answering in the affirmative, play was extended for half-an-hour to 5.30 p.m., Ashwin, until then batting bravely and giving hope of an Indian win, was out to the second ball of the last half-hour. It was unusual of Ashwin to step out, going for a wild shot against Hartley. The ball kept low and Ashwin was stumped out for 28. When Ashwin was dismissed, India still needed 54 to win.
Had Ashwin stayed put to the crease, who knows, India may still be fighting it out and taken the game to Monday and even won. The last pair of Bumrah and Siraj also put up a valiant effort, the latter making it even more exciting for his local fans on his home ground.
Bumrah and Siraj entertained, there were solid defences and the odd attacking shots. Siraj even assumed the responsibility of a senior batting partner. The two raised 25 runs and were ready to take the last over. Before the start of the last over of the day, a message went out to the two batsmen to see the over out and take the game to Monday.
However, after defending the first ball, Siraj did what Ashwin did, stepping out for a wild heave and missed the turning ball, only to be stumped. It was too much of an asking to expect Siraj and Bumrah to win it when the rest of the Indian batsmen were not really up to it, succumbing to the England spin bowlers.
India head coach Rahul Dravid said post-match that it was not easy to score 231 in the fourth innings of the Test. “230 was a pretty challenging score in the fourth innings on that wicket. It was always going to be challenging. You needed a truly exceptional innings to get that many runs,” said Dravid after India were bowled out for 202 and handed England a 28-run win and the 1-0 lead with four more Tests remaining.
Dravid admitted that India should have scored 70 more runs at least and one of the Indian batsmen should have gone on to score big. “In the first innings when conditions were pretty good to bat, we got ourselves some good starts. And we didn’t really capitalise. We didn’t get a hundred. We didn’t have somebody getting a really big hundred for us. So in some ways, you know, in India, I think I just felt we left those 70-80 runs behind.”
Meanwhile, victorious skipper Ben Stokes said it was the most important victory as a Test captain. “Since I’ve become captain, this (win) is definitely number one. We’ve been a part of some amazing games. Over the last two years, we’ve had some incredible victories. But considering where we were, who we played against, the position we found ourselves going into our second innings of batting, that’s a big reason as to why I feel this is our best victory since I’ve become the captain.”
