The rain did not stop since Sunday dawn. From the signs of it, the fourth Test’s penultimate day here would have been either washed out or truncated. The operative word is ‘would’ because there is no fourth day.
With everyone aware of Hurricane Bertha, M.S. Dhoni’s men just had to bat through the third day’s 61 remaining overs. The weather god’s helping hand and the resultant lack of time may have saved India during the remainder of the contest.
What transpired on Saturday was mind-numbing as India was bowled out for 161 in 43 overs and now trails 1-2 in a five-match series. The gains from Lord’s have been discarded. Ishant Sharma, the hero at Lord’s, is still recovering from injury but the remaining players have largely been the same except for minor changes in the playing eleven.
When Murali Vijay and Gautam Gambhir commenced India’s second innings, England was leaning on James Anderson. The other tormentor Stuart Broad was getting stitches on his nose at a hospital following a spiteful Varun Aaron bouncer. Anderson was tired and took his time to adjust his length. India had to bat long and it looked attainable.
Futile exerciseIsn’t Vijay in form? Hadn’t Gambhir saved a Test (remember his 643-minute vigil for a 137 against New Zealand at Napier in 2009?) In the end, hope was an exercise in futility. Vijay fell, Gambhir never looked at ease and the middle-order came and went.
Virat Kohli pulled Anderson for four and when Moeen Ali tossed up, Kohli slog swept for a couple. If they were hints about mastering swing and spin, they turned out to be red herrings. The team’s most acclaimed batsman again fatally fished against Anderson.
Out of his eight dismissals this series, Kohli has succumbed to fast bowlers on seven occasions and in that except for one lbw and a lone bowled, the other five modes of exit have been through the push outside off-stump that ended up as catches to the wicketkeeper or slips! Scores of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0 and 7 don’t justify Kohli’s talent.
Perhaps it also has to do with him and the other batsmen coping with a five-Test series for the first time. Once a weakness is exposed, it is doubly difficult to survive against dominating bowlers but Kohli and company have to find a way.
The other mainstay — Cheteshwar Pujara — may have got a doubtful decision but overall, he has been lukewarm. India’s past rescuers — Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane and the lower-order — failed and there was no fall-back option.
No devils in the pitchIncidentally it was R. Ashwin, who looked the most accomplished batsman while the others wilted. A more chastening reality for his feted colleagues up the order would be the knowledge that the Old Trafford pitch had no devils.
Dhoni said: “This was one of the good wickets. Once you see off the first 20-25 overs, when the ball is hard and new, it gets relatively better for the batsmen.”
There are other headaches too for India. Catches are shelled, edges bisect Dhoni and the first slip eliciting no reflex action, fast bowlers fail to inflict pressure, Ashwin the spinner has been under-utilised and defensive field settings are implemented early. The biggest humble-pie though is Ali’s kitty of 19 Indian wickets!
Even during the losses in South Africa and New Zealand, this young team had shown signs of progress. That signpost has been flung aside on this tour.
The Oval awaits and the fifth Test starting on Independence Day would reveal whether the visitors have embraced freedom from their recent failures. India cannot afford to drift anymore.
