England may have won eight of 10 chases, but none will have been on a trickier surface than this
Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Feb-20241:59
Manjrekar: ‘Very difficult for England to win from this position’
Many fingers and laptops have been burned writing off this England Test team.An impressive record of 14 wins out of 19 under Ben Stokes, aligned with some engaging cricket, has earned them a great deal of credit behind the bar and in the hearts of supporters. And considering they have won five out of eight matches in which they have given up a first-innings lead, they will believe they are still in this game. It was only last week they turned over a 190-run first-innings deficit to win the first Test in Hyderabad. What’s 143 in Visakhapatnam?Well, it is definitely not nothing. Especially with England batting last on a pitch starting to bounce irregularly. They may have won eight out of 10 chases, but none will have been on a tougher surface than this. “We believe we can chase anything, and we’ve showed that before,” said Zak Crawley.England had started day two well enough, needing just 19 overs to take India’s four remaining first-innings wickets, conceding just 60 in the process. James Anderson put on his usual clinic with the second new ball, taking 2 for 17 in an eight-over spell, accounting for both overnight batters, double centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal and chief rouser Ravichandran Ashwin. Five hours later, the 41-year-old seamer was back out there sporting his bowling boots and a Danny Glover esque grimace, ready to start India’s second innings. By stumps, the hosts had increased that lead to 171 for no loss.Related
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It is not ignoring England’s powers of recovery to say they should not be in this position. Or that they let slip an opportunity to really flex their muscles. Restricting India to 396 in their first innings was a success, and felt broadly like an extension of their graft from the first Test.They had chipped away 32 off India’s 396 inside just six over before lunch, then onto 50 off 51 after the break. Ashwin, who had started the day getting under Anderson’s skin, was whisked out of the attack unceremoniously by Rohit Sharma after his first eight overs went for 40. Even Jasprit Bumrah, who would go on to have the final say as he always seems to do, saw his fourth over taken for four boundaries.That England were in the ascendancy was down to Crawley. The opener looked in supreme touch, characterised by two straight drives in that 16-run Bumrah over – one off a full-pace delivery, the other off a slower off-cutter, which is usually one of the Indian quick’s more potent variations.A defensive push for an eighth boundary off Kuldeep Yadav’s googly was followed two deliveries later by a leisurely six to midwicket, moving to a 15th score of 50 or more from 52 deliveries. It seemed a targeted attack on the wrist spinner after his wicket maiden in the previous over which accounted for Ben Duckett. Nothing was out of Crawley’s control – and by proxy, this game was there to be reshaped by England after India had the best part of four sessions with it.Zak Crawley was dominant, especially against the quicks•Getty ImagesAlas, an innings of clarity and KP-esque chutzpah was finished in disappointing fashion. England were 110 for 1 at the drinks break, going along at five an over, when Axar Patel was introduced for the first time.Crawley was always going to approach this one way, waiting just one ball before stepping down the track and hacking Axar through midwicket. Attempting to assert more dominance the ball after, a skewed hack off a delivery that turned and bounced more than anticipated ended up brilliantly taken by Shreyas Iyer running back from point.It was, unfortunately, the only shot Crawley mistimed. By his own reasoning, it was in line with an approach that has served him well recently. And the numbers bear that out: averaging 51.92 with a strike rate of 91.09 since the start of last summer. Checking himself, he reckons, would have been regressing to the opener who averaged 27.60 from their first 33 caps.”If I start doubting myself in those situations and not backing my instincts, then I revert back to the player I was a couple of years ago, really not scoring many runs for my team.”I wasn’t happy to get out when I did but I’d definitely do the same thing. If that one doesn’t turn and I hit him over his head for six, then suddenly he’s under a lot of pressure, and I can milk him for two hours or whatever. there’s risk and reward there.”Amid the unwavering belief in the process, there was still regret that he could not motor on, or prevent what ended up being a match-tilting spell from Bumrah. Crawley would be the first of six wickets to fall for just 68, as Bumrah, with some help from Kuldeep, ripped out the heart of England’s batting card.”I was disappointed with myself,” said Crawley, “especially when the wickets fell after. But I’ll keep telling myself to back my aggressive game because that’s what got me here.”Shreyas Iyer took a smart running catch to send back Zak Crawley•AFP/Getty ImagesFor all Bumrah’s brilliance and England’s belief in the principles that have held them in good stead throughout Stokes’ tenure, this feels like an opportunity missed. This is likely to be the worst Indian XI they will face in this series. While there remains uncertainty over Virat Kohli’s participation, Mohammed Shami and KL Rahul are likely to play some part in the back three Tests. Both improve the hosts, as would the rested Mohammed Siraj, whose deputy Mukesh Kumar was taken for 44 in his wicket-less seven overs.Crawley’s positivity spilled over into the press conference. And already he was looking forward to the fourth innings, England’s favourite bit: when the scoreboard simply tells you what you need to win.”It’s a quick scoring ground, really small boundaries and a quick outfield,” he said. “Even the guys at the end showed if you put them under pressure you can get on top of them.”With a good couple of partnerships in the second innings we can really put them under some pressure but we’ve got to bowl well first. that’s all that’s on our minds now.”I’m not certain to be honest but I feel like it’s not breaking up like last week. I don’t think it’s going to be like last week, where it’ll turn that much. It will obviously turn more than now; that’s always the case here, but I don’t think it’ll be as tricky as it was in the fourth innings for them last week, so I feel like we can chase a decent score.”There is a long way to go until we get to that point. Keeping that number down will be tough enough. Achieving it might be their longest shot yet.
