Momentum with India, Pant absence a big loss

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Question before the big Oval game: Which captain slept soundly last night and who tossed and turned in the bed? India's Rishabh Pant at the fourth test cricket match between India and England, at the Old Trafford. (PTI)
After Old Trafford, Shubman Gill must have had a restful night in his St James's hotel suite while Ollie Pope, England's stand-in skipper, must have been troubled by uncomfortable thoughts.
Which is not surprising considering that England must be scarred after India's great escape in the fourth Test. Failure to close a game from a dominant position is likely to haunt them. On Day 4 with five sessions to go, with two wickets down for zero, with a team 311 behind, it was certain doom for India. The same dreadful situation a tennis player faces when 2-5, 0-40 down in the fifth set. England was like the nervous golfer who misses a 12-inch putt on the 18th hole on the final day to finish second.
From India's standpoint this was a dream game. Epic fourth innings resistance, a score of over 400 with three batters making hundreds, two of those from bowling allrounders. It is said winning is a habit and good teams have a way of winning, finding a way even from hopeless situations. India just tweaked that timeless wisdom: a good team has a way of avoiding defeat, finding a way to get out of the hole they were pushed into.
Full credit to Jadeja and Sundar for their stubborn resistance but the Test was a personal triumph for captain Gill. Scoring four hundreds in an overseas series is a feat achieved only by greats – it is not fluke or good form or success as a result of ordinary bowling and friendly pitches.
Gill is that rare 100-Test batter who is technically pure, correct and inventive, patient yet hungry. He is unhurried elegance, blessed with decisive foot movement and an uncluttered mind. Strong in defence but capable of shifting gears to put foot on pedal when needed. Not exactly Viv Richards but not Pujara either.
Though pleased on achieving the goal he set for himself ahead of the series (of becoming the best batsman in the team) Gill knows Oval will not be an easy game. At Lord's, India's batting failed to get 193 needed to win. At Old Trafford, the bowling failed as they conceded 669, with even genius Bumrah going for over a hundred runs – the first time in his fantastic 48-Test career.
Batting might not be a worry because opener Rahul has become Indian cricket's new wall, as solid as his celebrated senior from Indirapuram, Bengaluru. That Sudharsan/Sundar/Jadeja made tough runs is reassuring, but Pant's absence is a big loss.
Not just for the runs he makes at five but the brutal treatment he dishes out to bowlers. Archer is scary quick but imagine his mental state, and that of England's pace bowling unit, when Pant sweeps/reverse sweeps him as if playing a friendly net bowler floating up gentle looseners. That's not disrespect – it's outrageous contempt.
Going into the Oval decider, both teams have the same problem – finding bowlers who can win matches. India and Gill/Gambhir have to find bowlers who can get 20 wickets. If Bumrah's body doesn't allow him to play four Tests it's a massive loss. Siraj's body must also be sore having bowled so many overs. Hopefully, Akash Deep is fit and Arshdeep is the answer to solving the bowling issues.
At Old Trafford it appeared that the captain forgot Sundar was playing, or that he could bowl, till the 69th over. It seems the tour selection committee has had a similar memory lapse about Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner is a wicket-taking option – independent of pitch and conditions – because batsmen struggle to make out which way the ball is turning.
Still, despite being 2/1 down, Gill is in better space than his England counterpart. Apart from the trauma of missing out at Old Trafford, Pope will worry that England bowled 143 overs in ten hours to take four wickets. Stokes was England's best bowler but a dodgy shoulder has ruled him out. England has effected a surgical strike on their bowling unit, opting for fresh legs to take on India's batting.
After four Tests of compelling cricket Oval is a great opportunity for India to level the series. Momentum, the money-can't-buy quality, is with India but cricket is more uncertain than Indian elections or the English weather. Gill has 722 runs from four games, but when he walks down the steps at the Oval he would know he starts from zero.