Liam Dawson could be a gamble worth taking if Chennai pitch recovering from a cyclone leads England to deploy three spinners in fifth Test of a humbling tourThe residents of Chennai have endured a terrible 10 days with the death of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa Jayaram, followed by Cyclone Vardah, which has caused havoc in a city now striving hard to get back to normal.The arrival of the India and England Test teams in Chennai cannot possibly change much but the fact the Test is going ahead at Chepauk may be regarded as an indication that some sort of normal service is being resumed. Related: England’s Jimmy Anderson questions India double centurion Virat Kohli The pitch being...
In Ashwin and his partners in crime, Ravi Jadeja and Jayant Yadav, India have a trio of all-rounders capable of turning the game with either disciplineAfter the red dust settled in the middle and the handshakes, however tightly gripped, went around, the India captain, Virat Kohli, led his team on a lap of honour around the Wankhede Stadium to celebrate what he later described as the sweetest of his five successive series victories in charge.This satisfaction, Kohli said, came both from the quality of the opposition and the manner in which his side have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead going into the fifth Test in Chennai starting on Friday, coming as it has with three tosses going against him in...
Spinning all-rounder produces first for his country with Test century at No9 and helps Virat Kohli tighten home side’s grip on fourth matchWhile England’s selection on this tour has become so contorted that their No4 batsman, Moeen Ali, registered a third-ball duck barely an hour after sending down the last of his 53 overs, a spin-bowling all-rounder has emerged for India who could easily be the find of the series.Jayant Yadav was a name on few lips when England arrived in the country five weeks ago and did not make the first Test in Rajkot. But since his debut a week later in Visakhapatnam, this softly spoken 27-year-old – a gentle Jayant – has quietly gone about becoming the spin...
The brash captain is a character worlds apart from the icon whose place in India’s hearts he has inherited, but he proves similarly beguiling in crushing EnglandVirat Kohli is a son of Delhi but, at 3pm on Saturday, as the ball burst through the hands of a diving Ben Stokes at cover and the India captain scampered through for a single, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai erupted in a way that suggested adoption papers from the city may soon be forthcoming.Here was Kohli, the bristling embodiment of a confident modern India, notching his 15th Test century and celebrating in fitting fashion. The leap in the air, the swift removal of the helmet, the circling of the bat to all parts...
The Lancashire wicketkeeper also plays for Mumbai Indians and used his knowledge of the Wankhede Stadium to play a knock that suggests he can still play a part in red-ball cricketLocal knowledge can go a long way in a bustling city such as Mumbai. Black and yellow taxis, for example, cost far less than the blue and silver ones, with the sole difference between the two being air-conditioning when simply winding down the window works fine.Heading to the cricket? The ticket office is at Gate Two but booking online is the way to go. Rucksacks should be left at the hotel, water bottles will similarly be confiscated, while sun cream and cameras are touch‑and‑go items depending on the mood of...