Rajkot: The final day of Rajkot Test had all the ingredients of a blockbuster. Alastair Cook and Co. started on the same note they had finished yesterday with the captain leading from the front. Cook and Hameed strengthened their yesterday’s partnership and put together a 180-run for the first wicket, when Hameed was caught and bowled by Amit Mishra for a well-made 82.
India struck again quickly when Joe Root was caught behind the stump by Wriddhiman Saha, Mishra being the bowler. But there wasn’t much joy in the day then for the Indian side. England after batting for a session and a half declared for 260/3 and Cook scored a wonderful century yet again in India against India. His knock showed his masterclass and put England into the driver’s seat.
England came into the field with an intent to win. And that intent made all the difference in the tea. Gautam Gambhir was done by a bouncing ball in the corridor of uncertainty by Chris Woakes and was caught by Root in the slips. Cheteshwar Pujara was given LBW when the replay showed that the ball had pitched down the leg side, but that was after Pujara and Murali Vijay decided to go against taking the review.
At tea India were 48/2, yet most felt that India would survive the remaining 30 odd overs without much difficulty. But that wasn’t the case today. After Tea, Vijay was out bat-pad to the short leg fielder; Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed on 1, courtesy poor short selection to Mooen Ali’s short ball. India were 71/4, and the look on skipper Virat Kohli’s face after Rahane’s dismissal displayed the entire story. It was only when two Indian all-rounders decided to bat sensibly and give their captain some support in the other end that India somehow managed to survive the day. Ravindrachandran Ashwin (32 of 53 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (32 of 33 balls) made valuable partnerships that saved India the game.
But England will be proud of themselves the way they have played in this Test. Coming to India and knocking India off its feet is a big thing for any overseas team. England team however did it with ease. They would go on to the second Test with a lot of confidence. However, India on the other hand will have a lot of thinking to do.
After a wonderful Test Match from Rajkot, both teams will now head off to Vishakhapatnam where both the teams will play to get their first win in the series from November 17.