In England, against the odds, the Indian tail finds a way

Ahead of the beginning of India’s tour of England 2021, there were a few areas of concern. These are nothing which the Indian team had faced in the past six months, but issues that were exposed during the team’s 2018 tour. The issues lingered as three years of Test cricket went by. On that list, there was one issue that has been persistent more in the away series, than the home series. 

Because India is blessed with a truckload of spin-bowling all-rounders, playing in the sub-continental conditions is never a huge problem. But, in away conditions, the scenario changes a bit. Since 2018, India can be proud of the way their fast-bowlers have performed in those matches. But, the fast-bowlers don’t often bat well. This conundrum might have been something the management was fussed about. But, two Tests in, the Indian team seems to have found a way. 

At Trent Bridge, the Indian tail showed that it can manage to hang on at the crease. At Lord’s, it managed to take the team from a potential match-losing position to a position of strength, from which India could have either managed to draw the match or win it. The fact that the whole team came down to the long room as Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah returned at Lunch on day five, shows how much their partnership meant to the team. 

Going into the fifth day, as always there was a lot of chatter around Rishabh Pant. With 154 runs ahead and him being the last recognized batsman, it made sense. At best, India would have expected a quick fifty from him and ideally, taking the lead beyond 200. But, when he got out adding only 8 runs to his overnight score, India had Ishant Sharma, Shami, Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj left with the bat. Add to the fact, it is the morning session in England with a brand new Dukes ball. 

Ishant has played over a hundred Tests now, yet his batting credentials can’t be written home about. The fact that he is batting No. 8 for India, gives you an idea of how bad are the ones who are coming after him. At Lord’s on Monday, Ishant looked secured. There is something bizarre about his batting, but no one in this lot can be trusted to see off deliveries more than him. He managed to hang on Monday for a while. 

He made 16 runs from 24 balls, with two fours. As insignificant as it may sound now, his runs seemed like a blessing at the time. At 209 for 8, India is 182 runs ahead, enough to make a match out of this situation. When Bumrah arrived at the crease, everyone around the ground could almost feel that he was going to be peppered with some short stuff after what happened on day three. 

Before this series, it had been reported that Bumrah had worked on his batting for this tour. His improved batting skills were seen in Australia when he made his maiden first-class fifty in a warm-up match. But, in the previous Test in Nottingham, it seemed like his batting hit ultimate high. He made 28 runs which helped India to stretch their lead to 95 runs. But, this was another day, with different challenges and different conditions. 

Yet, Bumrah looked solid. More than anything, his temperament is something that should be praised. Despite all the exchanges which happened on the field in that morning session, he looked calm and focused through and through. He did have a partner at the other end, who had more experience of batting situations than him. 

Shami’s batting is something of a mystery. When he entered international cricket, he was a pretty handy tail-ender. Though he could be termed as a slogger at best, there was a lot to like about his batting. There were opinions that he needed to work hard on his batting but hasn’t. In 2014, on what was a pretty flat wicket in Trent Bridge, he scored his maiden fifty. 

On the list of his highest scores in Test cricket, there is that 51 not out, there’s a 34 in Adelaide, a 30 in Galle, a 28 in Centurion, and a match-winning hand of 27 in Johannesburg. The last knock among those, came when India needed some late runs in order to set a decent enough total. He hit two big sixes in that innings. But, this is what Shami’s batting is about. Or at least that is what it had been for years. 

The absolutely absurd thing about his batting is that it looks magnificent when it comes off. He once smashed Ajantha Mendis for two massive sixes in an Asia Cup game in 2014. Unlike Sharma’s batting, Shami’s technique looks clean when he connects (it should be noted that Sharma hardly ever connects). At Lord’s, Shami looked every bit as secure on the crease as Bumrah was. 

Batting averages by position in England vs India Test series comparison – 2021 vs 2018

Bumrah got a couple of streaky boundaries and runs, but Shami was almost flawless. Against Moeen Ali, Shami took a leaf out of Rohit Sharma’s book, stepping out and going for a big one. He launched Ali thrice in the air, twice he got four, and once he connected as far as 92 meters into the stand. That shot took him to his second half-century. He ended with 56 runs from 70 balls. In the context of the innings, it looks huge and it is. 

Bumrah’s 28 in Nottingham was his best effort with the bat in Test cricket. He bettered that with his 34 at Lord’s. Coming to England, he had 43 runs in the format. His improvement with the bat is not something that will regularly win India matches. But there had to be a way in which he along with his tail-ender friends had to add something to the total. For now, they might not have changed the narrative completely, but the progress is immense.  

The 89-run stand between Shami and Bumrah could potentially allow India to think of going in with four seamers anywhere they play. The fact that India’s two best batters among the ones who can bowl are spin bowlers is something to be happy and worried at the same time. It should never be the case that a team as good as India has to pick a spinner, who might not be as effective as a seamer on any pitch, just to ensure that their tail is a bit long. 

Virat Kohli, ahead of the Lord’s Test, said that the team management won’t think of having a spinner, in this case, Ravichandran Ashwin, just add some runs with the bat. The decision of backing Ishant at No. 8, on any planet will remain probably one of the most bizarre tactical calls a captain or team has had to make. 

But, the absolute best thing about Shami and Bumrah on this fifth day was how the two ran in right after Kohli declared the innings. Having spent most of the morning session in the middle, as the Indian charged on the field to attempt an improbable win, the duo was on the mission to run through the English team.

Bumrah drew first blood, in his very first over. He bowled six overs in his first spell. Shami, too, got a wicket off his very first over as if this was a script written somewhere. He bowled a tight spell of four overs, where he could have also got the wicket of Haseeb Hameed, but the catch which flew to the slips was dropped by Rohit. Bumrah returned later after tea to get the most important wicket of the English line-up, Root. 

The period from when India was 209 for 7 till England was 1 for 2, there were only two Indian players who were at the forefront of everything. This one period of play could well be used to define their importance in this current Indian team.

But their efforts with the bat and the ball shows what has changed in the Indian cricket team. It is about adapting. It is about learning from past mistakes and making up. Repeating the same mistakes is not an option. It is about standing when your teammates fail around you. It is about making a match out of anything. And most importantly, it is about winning.