Chennai Test became witness to another fantastic Indian win when India won by an innings and 75 runs after conceding 477 runs in the first innings. The best part about this Indian win was that this wasn’t a subcontinent pitch where ball would turn square from Day 1, neither did India’s test specialist performed as per their stature and in spite all that India won the match quite convincingly which showed the depth in the team.
England won 4 tosses, but didn’t utilize the advantage and lost all four matches which is a very rare sight in subcontinent conditions. England managed to put on a decent first innings total, but dropped catches, half chances that weren’t taken, dropped spirits in the field hurt them big time. England slacked down to fifth position after this loss.
India vs England, 5th Test: It was Jadeja’s day on Day 5; India win series 4-0
While India is having a fabulous run of play under Virat Kohli, the biggest test is still to come when India play overseas and knowing Kohli, we all know he is waiting to go and make India win matches in overseas conditions as well. There will be a lot of positives to take from this tour as far as India is concerned the major ones being Jayant Yadav and Karun Nair and how Ravindra Jadeja has stepped up the ladder both with the bat and bowl.
Ashwin and Jadeja make it rare instance of two India bowlers topping ICC Test rankings
But India did have its own share of a few not so good moments in the series but were lucky to get away with it. Indian fielders were not up to the level of expectations that they have generated by way of outstanding fielding efforts. Parthiv Patel has only looked Okay behind the stumps. Some of Virat’s reviews didn’t make sense to many and these are the areas where the team needs to work on.
For England to find positives would be a tough task. But the way they played at Rajkot was commendable and their best chance of winning when Cook and Root fired, even in the matches they lost there were always sessions in which England certainly looked like they were getting the momentum and slowly taking the game away from India but somehow India have managed to come out of that situation. However, Jennings and H Hameed are beautiful prospects for the England team. Plenty of things for England to work on. Cook and Root need to play more responsibly and somebody needs to play the big innings more often. England desperately need another Swann-Panesar duo to create magic especially in these conditions. Fielding also needs to go a couple of notches up.
All that said when India-England meet in colored jerseys England are more likely to be a tougher opponent to beat.
Let’s have a look at the individual hits and flops from Chennai Test
India
Hits
Karun Nair
The man became only the third batsman in the world to convert his maiden century into a triple hundred. The way he paced his innings was absolutely magnificent. Although, he did get his share of luck but Nair make the most of it and announced his arrival in world Cricket in only his Third Test match against a quality side.
Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round performance made sure India win the series 4-0 and not get satisfied by a 3-0 result. His 7-wicket haul in the second innings single handedly shell shocked the England batsmen who didn’t know what to do. As a result, England could not get partnerships and Jadeja gave nothing away to the new batsmen. His valuable 51 runs with the bat also made sure Nair doesn’t run out of partner and completes his triple hundred before India declare.
Flops
Ravichandran Ashwin
A very rare sight to see Ashwin picking up only one wicket for over 200 runs in the match. But that’s what cricket or sports is all about, a great leveler and equalizer. Ash definitely knows his game pretty well and will come back stronger and improved.
Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli
Bit harsh on them, got just one opportunity to bat in the match but managed only 16 and 15 respectively. But not a sign to worry at all, both these players average over 50 in Test Match Cricket and that is enough evidence to show how consistent they have been for India.
England
Hits
Moeen Ali
Although Ali been scratchily, he managed to get through that period and ease down as he progressed in his innings. Ali has scored 4 centuries in the calendar year and his batting has really improved a lot. Ali played the innings that was exactly what England needed at that point of time someone to be there when Root had got out and there was a hint of opening for Indian bowlers.
LA Dawson
Dawson picked up not only 2 wickets but remained unbeaten on 66 in the first Innings. Along with Adil Rashid, Dawson was involved in a much-needed partnership for England and made sure England finish above 450. Dawson was done by a googly from Amit Mishra which he didn’t pick up in the second innings.
Flops
Joe Root’s second inning
Joe Root being the best and the most complete batsmen in the squad should have played with a lot more responsibility. Even when he was out in the first innings, he should have converted his 88 into a big hundred something like what KL Rahul or Karun Nair did for India. Although Root has often been compared to Kohli but in this series, undoubtedly Virat has looked far more accomplished than Root in terms of temperament and technique.
JT Ball
Ball conceded over 4 runs an over for his 23 overs and failed to create any kind of pressure. Although he did manage to force batsmen to commit a mistake, catches never went to hand. Once Anderson gets fit, Ball would have to redefine his role in the team and perform accordingly.