Published: Dec 16, 2016, 07:27 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 16, 2016, 07:27 PM (IST)
Familiar scenes were witnessed on the first day of the fifth and final Test between India and England at Chennai. Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to bat once again, England made a poor start losing their openers for cheap before Joe Root and Moeen Ali came to their rescue. Moeen slammed the second century of the ongoing five-Test series, but Root was unlucky as he fell short of another three-figure mark. Moeen scored 120 not out, and Root made 88 to make it England’s day at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, in the fifth Test. The local hero, Ravichandran Ashwin, bowled 24 wicketless overs and remained luckless.
On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja remained the pick among the bowlers with 3 for 73 on the first day. The pitch, which was dried up in one of the most unusual ways using hot coal over small carriages, provided ample amount of turn for the spinners but Ashwin remained without any wicket. It can be said Ashwin was simply out of luck as the probing deliveries were dealt well by the English batsmen. Moeen played with dexterity, while Root was the one who led their fightback. Let us take a look at the highlights from Day One:
Alastair Cook creates history on the first ball: It was yet another poor outing for the England captain who was dismissed for the fifth time by Jadeja. Cook was caught at the first slip in the 13th over, but history was already created by then. Cook entered the record books as the 10th batsman in the history of cricket to score 11,000 runs and more — a feat which he achieved on the first ball of the day itself. The achievement could have sparked some confidence in Cook to get a big score, but he continued to struggle against Jadeja. As the 10th member of the exclusive club, Cook has been struggling with inconsistency, something that will be discussed in details in time to come.
FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs England, 5th test at Chennai
Keaton Jennings’ failure: The lanky opener would have walked out on Friday morning brimming with confidence. His first innings heroics at Mumbai provided him yet another game, but Jennings looked all at sea. He faced 16 balls and found it tough to get going. Having not scored any runs, Jennings’ inexperience came to the fore when he chased the 17th delivery of his innings outside off, ending up edging it behind the wickets.
Ishant Sharma’s remarkable comeback: Some called it Team India’s wedding gift to Ishant, who finally returned to the playing XI since the West Indies tour. Playing his first international match since August, Ishant was expected to take his time in settling down and find rhythm. However, much to the surprise of many, Ishant was spot-on. He began with a measly spell and announced his arrival in style. At the end of the first spell, Ishant’s figures read 5-4-1-1.
Gritty Joe Root’s misfortune: Root deserves to be called England’s workhorse more than their most talented batsman. Once again, a poor start demanded the best of the right-hander, and Root responded with one of those familiar counter-attacking innings. When Root got along with Moeen, England were reeling at 21 for 2 in the 13th over. The run rate remained below two for a while, but Root began picking those occasional boundaries to push it up. Root’s use of the feet was exemplary, even though he survived what could have been a stumping chance had Parthiv Patel collected the ball early on in his innings. Root deserved a hundred, but going hard at a Jadeja delivery outside off, he edged it behind to the wicketkeeper.
Moeen Ali shows class: Wonder what this England team will look like if they are without the likes of Moeen and Root. The all-rounder, who is sometimes England’s opener, sometimes the lead spinner, or sometimes their ‘best batsman’ at No. 4, Moeen is rapidly learning a lot in early years of his career.
On Friday, Moeen once again came out with England tottering. He began rather nervously, but he survived an excellent spell before Ashwin wherein the spinner created a lot of worries. The credit goes to Moeen, who kept watching the ball till the end and played with soft hands in order to avoid edges — if any — carrying to the slips. Moeen had squandered starts and even fifties in the past not converting them, but on Friday, the England batsman looked determined to get his century.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s poor luck: Having literally owned the best of the batting line-ups, Ashwin returned to his home ground with the wish to carry on creating magic. The first spell was perhaps one of the best in the series — Ashwin looped the ball enviably for all his peers watching, took the pace off it and still got vicious turn. However, there were no wickets. Moeen was beaten several times, and on one occasion the edge even fell short of the man at first slip. But no success entailed throughout the day while Ashwin toiled. It was a master performing at the top of his art, but since Test cricket remains a cruel avenue, Ashwin returned wicketless.
Hanging by the tight rope, but still not impressive: Cyclone Vardah robbed Indian and English teams any chance of training before the game. As the day progressed and sun shone with all its might on Chepauk, workers were deployed to clean up the mess following the natural disaster. But then, who likes to be disturbed when one is watching cricket?
An old woman, watching the game from an enclosed part of the stadium, requested a worker to move out of her eyesight fixated on the action in the middle since the man, hanging with a tight rope, began cleaning the glass right in front of her. The worker was only doing his job, but the fan was not amused, and she kept pleading him to finish off soon and get off her enjoyment. Not surprisingly, the poor man slipped downwards only when he was done.
