India’s captain decides against enforcing the follow-on as Ashwin reminds England why he is the world’s No1 bowler with five wickets in the second TestAt 1.36pm on the third day in Visakhapatnam, with a round 200-run first-innings lead safely tucked away in his back pocket, Virat Kohli opted against enforcing the follow-on and with it delayed England’s next trial by spin on the subcontinent temporarily.Kohli’s opposite number, Alastair Cook, knows all about the chuntering from the golf-mad commentariat that can result from such a call – Old Trafford against Pakistan last summer springs to mind – and yet on this occasion, with just under half the Test remaining and a pitch to wear further, few could groan at the India...
England’s two young batsmen, while falling in wildly different ways, were the victims of misjudgment in VisakhapatnamThe second day in Visakhapatnam was one of harsh realities for England and, in particular, two of the novices in the side. Both Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett, while falling in wildly different ways, were the victims of misjudgment.In the case of Hameed the mistake was someone else’s and after a debut in Rajkot that saw him record the highest international score by an English teenager and earn comparisons with some of the greats of the game, his experience was one of returning to earth with a bump. Related: India’s Ravi Ashwin makes England pay after Hameed run out sparks collapse Related: Joe Root’s...
Verdant Visakhapatnam does not look the place to recall England’s record wicket-taker given the third Test in Mohali starts so soon afterwards, and the spinners are finding their rhythmFor the second match in succession England will play on a new Test ground and that brings many virtues. Here on the outskirts of a city that sits alongside the Bay of Bengal is a stadium that has been polished for the grand occasion.Beyond the neat, symmetrical stands, the verdant, tree-lined hills rise up spectacularly. We might be in Pallekele just outside Kandy or somewhere leafy in the Caribbean. The practice facilities are spacious and of the highest quality, just as they were in Rajkot, while the rest of the grassland outside...
Home side often open a Test series with one of their ‘sporting’ wickets and catch the unaware tourists by surprise, but battle-hardened England were more than their match in RajkotThe first Test ended in a draw, only a draw, yet England’s performance in Rajkot has provoked many superlatives. Should the gnarled old pros among us douse any elation despite the dire post-Dhaka prognostications? No, the superlatives were justified, though they guarantee nothing as England arrive at their beachside hotel in Visakhapatnam, where one assumes there can only be extra-thick sticks of rock.A dip into the past suggests why. On England’s previous seven visits to India they have lost the first Test six times. The only exception has a parallel with...
Jimmy Anderson may struggle to displace England’s in-form bowlers while India need to call time on struggling Gautam GambhirJimmy Anderson says he is fit and appears keen to play in the second Test in Visakhapatnam – although he did not appear to mention the venue by name. This alone raises questions: even if the selectors decide it’s not worth it then leaving out England’s record wicket-taker is a decision they will have to justify. And if Anderson does come into the team, who drops out? Stuart Broad, the other senior bowler, was rested only one Test ago. Dropping either of the other two seamers, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, not only means leaving out an in-form player but weakens a...