The opener has finally made his first overseas Test century and his captain will be looking for him to help India dominate again at Old TraffordThe one word Rohit Sharma hated more than any other through the initial part of his international career was talent.As heir apparent to the batting greats of the generation before him, the next big thing from the storied Mumbai school of batsmanship, great things were expected of him. And expected of him instantly. When his natural ability did not translate into a mountain of runs, he would be taunted as talent, but no performance, on social media. The doubters used his strength to target him. Continue reading...
Old Trafford was the scene of three Test wins for the home side last summer and Joe Root’s side need another this week if they are to avoid a series defeatOld Trafford was deemed to be the less comfortable of the two biosecure venues by England’s men last summer, with its city location and smaller perimeter a distant second to the leafy golf resort that is the Ageas Bowl. Some even called it an “open prison”.But cricket-wise the old ground was also the scene of the three Test wins they managed to secure during that weird season – two against West Indies, one against Pakistan – and thus a source of encouragement as Joe Root’s now weary-looking side hope to...
This was England’s third Test defeat of the summer but the inquest will surely be brief after a spellbinding win for IndiaForget about operas and fat ladies singing, you know a Test is over when India’s captain starts conducting. It happened here 24 minutes, five overs and two wickets after lunch on the final day, shortly after Ollie Pope’s stumps had been rearranged by Jasprit Bumrah. First a few overhead claps, then Virat Kohli extended his arms to full width and swayed them gently up and down, like an albatross in flight. Not an inappropriate bird, England might have thought, for Kohli to be impersonating. The pocket of the JM Finn stand that has been overwhelmingly populated by India’s blue...
The bowler who bamboozled England is one of the few players thriving in all three formats and is likely to get even betterThe signs were there, if you wanted to see them. England’s batsmen emerged for the start of day five full of vigour and hope, buoyed by their unbeaten start the previous evening and a crowd that believed, against the weight of history and perhaps its own better sense. The first run was greeted like a divine blessing. The first boundary from Rory Burns was roared every inch of its way to the rope.Meanwhile, at the other end, Jasprit Bumrah was quietly completing a spell of four overs for three runs. It was a day on which cricket’s master...
India took control of fourth Test in part because the hosts have lost the ability to apply pressure when it is urgently neededOne of the criticisms most frequently levelled at this England side is its obsession with Australia. The sense that, however stern or august their current assignment, they are always on some level looking ahead to the next Ashes tour. In this respect day four of the fourth Test was its own neat riposte: a day on which England were able to savour the unique privations of Australia without leaving their own backyard.On a stickily warm day at the Oval Joe Root’s side could treat themselves to the full, soul-destroying, as-live Ashes experience: a chastening, back-breaking, heel-jarring day in...