Published: Dec 20, 2016, 06:50 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 20, 2016, 06:52 PM (IST)
England managed to pull off the seemingly impossible during the fifth Test against India at Chepauk, Chennai. They had batted over five sessions in the first innings, and with had a wicketless session in the second. Then they imploded inexplicably, losing all 10 wickets in less than four hours to gift-wrap India an innings victory. In the process England also became the second team (after Australia) to lose a Test series 0-4 against India. The biggest stars of the victory were Karun Nair, who became the second Indian (after Virender Sehwag) to score a Test triple-hundred, while Ravindra Jadeja became the first cricketer in history to take 10 wickets, score a fifty, and take 4 catches in the same Test. Here, then, are the marks out of 10 for the Englishmen:
Moeen Ali (7/10): Moeen scored a delightful 146 in the first innings, forming the fulcrum of their 477. He never seemed to be troubled till Virat Kohli decided to pepper him with bouncers. Moeen fell when Umesh Yadav bowled one that rose so steeply that it almost climbed on Moeen. He scored 44 in the second innings as well before getting out to an irresponsible stroke when caution was the need of the hour. He did go for runs, but he also broke India’s opening partnership.
Jonny Bairstow (5/10): Had decibels been kept track of, Bairstow could have got full points. He did not lose his voice or enthusiasm even once during India’s mammoth 190.4-over innings, He kept wickets diligently, conceded a mere 2 byes, and fell to outstanding catches in each innings. There was little he could have done to prevent the outcome.
Joe Root (5/10): Root scored his customary fifty, making it a fifty in each of his 11 Tests against India. He batted beautifully in the first innings for 88 before getting a faint edge. In the second, he missed one when he attempted to sweep an over-pitched delivery. Kohli had opted for DRS on both occasions, for Root’s was the biggest wicket of them all, and called correctly in each innings.
Liam Dawson (3/10): Dawson’s gritty unbeaten 66 was crucial in the first innings, but he was left clueless against an Amit Mishra googly in the second. As for his primary suit, Dawson was probably over-bowled, given how ineffective he was. He did trap Murali Vijay, but the wicket of Jadeja was really a consolation wicket when a declaration was around the corner.
Adil Rashid (3/10): For once Rashid — who accounted for 36% of wickets taken by Englishmen in the series — failed with ball, his only wicket (of KL Rahul, for 199) coming off a loose, wide delivery. He scored a crucial first-innings 60 but was dismissed by Umesh Yadav the moment India claimed the second new ball in the second.
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Ben Stokes (3/10): Exactly why Stokes was under-bowled in the Test remains a mystery, but he was, and he looked as impressive as any of his teammates when he got a chance. He got Cheteshwar Pujara and created doubts in minds of most batsmen, testing them with reverse-swing and bouncers. He fell to a beautiful catch off a beautiful ball in the first innings but threw it away almost needlessly in the second.
Keaton Jennings (3/10): Jennings scored 1 and 54, in other words, 4 less than Cook. However, he does not lose the point Cook does for unimaginative leadership. Jennings’ inexperience was exposed in both innings. In the first innings Ishant Sharma set him up with a series of claustrophobically close deliveries before bowling a wide one that he edged; in the second, Jadeja beat him comprehensively in flight.
Alastair Cook (2.5/10): In the first innings Cook poked at one outside off from Jadeja and gave a catch to slip. In the second he poked at one, once again off Jadeja, and once again got out caught — this time at leg-slip. He scored 10 and 49, showing some gumption in the second. However, his looked completely out of sorts in the middle, under-bowling Ben Stokes and over-bowling Liam Dawson, making unimaginative field placements, and letting the game drift when Karun Nair ran sharp singles.
Stuart Broad (2/10): Broad had his moment of glory when he dismissed Kohli cheaply, sending Chepauk into stunned silence, but that was it. His other wicket, of Ravichandran Ashwin, was basically the outcome of a spectacular catch by Jos Buttler. He also scored a first-innings 19.
Jos Buttler (1.5/10): Just like in Mumbai, Buttler was left stranded in the third innings at Chennai as wickets fell around him like ninepins. However, there was little else in the match for him, though he held 3 catches. The extra half-point is for the stunner he took to dismiss Ashwin.
Jake Ball (0.5/10): He hit Ashwin for a six.
