What a difference a bit of grass on a 22-yard long piece of earth otherwise called a cricket pitch can make! After a most boring start to the 5-match Investac Test Series between Indian and England, when there were already dreary predictions of all the five matches ending up as draws, we were finally treated to some exciting and sumptuous Test cricket. And we saw what an exciting game cricket can be when there is something in the pitch for the bowlers, which gets the fast bowlers into play and the batsmen are presented with a real challenge, both to survive and to score runs. The best batsmen succeed at both because of their superior technique, grit and determination, while those who just aren’t good enough, are blown away. The wheat gets separated from the chaff.
It is a most common belief in international cricket that India are not capable of producing batsmen who can succeed in Test matches abroad on green tracks, and the Lord’s pitch was as green as a cricket pitch could possibly get. Step forward young Ajinkya Rahane, for long a victim of politics in Indian cricket, who was a part of the Indian squad for an incredible two years without getting a chance to play a single Test match, finally showed what India had been missing all these years – a world class Test batsman, fully capable of taking on the best fast bowlers in conditions outside the subcontinent, on lively tracks with pace, bounce and movement.
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Rahane’s name will be now immortalized on the board at Lord’s, which inscribes the names of those scoring a hundred in the “Mecca of Cricket” for all of eternity. The likes of Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting have their names on these boards. But the sheer quality of Rahane’s knock, and the circumstances under which it was made, when his team was in absolutely dire straits, makes his century one of the best ever made at cricket’s hallowed ground.
India were staring at the barrel at 145 for 7, as all the overpaid and over hyped Indian cricketers were blown away, reduced to smithereens, by a sustained and brilliant display of fast bowling by the English pace quartet led by Jimmy Anderson, who was in the middle of a great controversy before the start of the match over his conflagration with India’s Ravindra Jadeja. The duo of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad were menacing, not giving an inch to the Indian top order, which was clearly under the tosh. Shikhar Dhawan, as is fast becoming a regular feature of career, hit a couple of glorious shots, before getting out cheaply. Vijay and Pujara soldiered on, fighting hard, using up a plenty of balls, leaving a lot outside the off stump, without actually scoring too many runs. Virat Kohli came in, flashed around, getting a quick 25, before getting out easily, again – which has become a habit with him. MS Dhoni showed yet again why he is just a poor Test batsman in conditions that favor the bowlers, making just 1. Ravindra Jadeja showed that he is no Test batsman, and hyped much more than his talents are really worth. Stuart Binny came and went, showing yet again why he will never cut it at the Test level.
So India were 145 for 7, with England all over them, Anderson in particular making the ball sing. It was then that Bhuvneshwar Kumar – a cricketer with a big heart and great guts, which makes up for his limited talent – joined Ajinkya Rahane. The two unassuming young men then set up a brilliant counter attack rather than folding up. Rahane in particular cut and pulled the English fast bowlers with the sort of brilliance that reminded one of Ricky Ponting, considered to be one of the greatest players of fast bowling. England had no answer to the duo, and Kumar looked set for his third successive half century batting at number nine, when Broad managed to bowl him out with a ball that kept low.
But Kumar had by then added 90 runs in the partnership with Rahane, taking India to a position of respectability already. Rahane continued his good work as he was joined by Mohammad Shami, playing several brilliant shots, including a memorable straight six off Jimmy Anderson. The entire crowd at Lord’s broke into a sustained applause as the young Indian reached his second century from only seven Tests, marveling at the sheer quality of what they had been witness to.
Rahane was out immediately after, with Jimmy Anderson taking a stunning catch off his own bowling. India were at a comfortable 290 for 9, which was simply amazing considering that they were 145 for 7 at one stage. The second day promises to be just as exciting, with a lot of attention being placed on Alistair Cook. The England captain will be under great pressure to come up with a big innings after two years of low scores.
