It was 2011 all over again. We thought Indian cricket had moved on from the 2011 series in England which ended in such an abject 4-0 loss, but events of the fifth day’s play at Rose Bowl in Southampton indicate that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men still have a long way to go. India’s performance earlier today may only be described as a total surrender. Not even one player, save Ajinkya Rahane, thought it fit to even put up a fight. As losses go, this one was as bad as it gets, and shocking because it comes after an amazing win at the Lord’s only in the previous Test.
The other side of the coin is that the English team, which looked so down and out only a week ago, with captain Alastair Cook just moments away from not only losing his position as the skipper of the team, but even his position as a player, has seen a complete turnaround in fortunes. Alastair Cook is back to being the most admired English cricketer and a role model to look up to, having made 165 runs in all from this Test, and getting out only once. Already, Cook’s poor performance as both a batsman and as a captain over the past two years is being forgotten, and he is back to being England’s favorite son, while his critics go into a hiding. Such is cricket! No wonder people call it the game of glorious uncertainties.
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As the day began, it was hoped that the Indian batsmen would at least lose with honor, try their best to bring a semblance of respectability to what was already an irretrievable situation. But it was not to be so. Rohit Sharma, who was included as the sixth specialist batsman, did nothing to justify his selection and he got out within minutes of the start of the day’s play, nicking James Anderson behind to the safe hands of wicketkeeper Joss Buttler, not adding even a run to his overnight score of 6. MS Dhoni walked in, and looked defeated from the first ball faced by him. He didn’t last long either, getting out in familiar fashion, which has become all too predictable by now – chasing an outswinger from Anderson, only to edge it and to be caught behind by the wicketkeeper. Another abject performance by Dhoni on a track that has something for seamers and one really wonders whether he really is a Test class batsman. Perhaps it’s time for India to find a replacement for Dhoni.
Ajinkya Rahane did his best to hold the fort from his end, but he could only helplessly watch as wickets kept tumbling at the other end. This time it was off spinner Moeen Ali, supposedly a harmless part timer, who had great joy bowling to the Indians. Moeen had already taken two wickets yesterday and today, he was even better, running through the Indian lower order like knife through butter. First, Moeen castled a bemused Ravindra Jadeja with a yorker, then removed the inform Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the same over, having him caught at short leg for a duck. Mohammad Shami didn’t last either, and by the time Moeen bowled last man Pankaj Singh to win the match for England, he had already taken six wickets, for wonderful figures of 6 for 67, which is comparable to the great Graeme Swann’s best effort of 6 for 65. So in Moeen Ali, England have a top order batsman who can be a frontline spinner – which makes him a very valuable player for his team.
So from here, we move on to Old Trafford in Manchester. The match begins exactly a week from now, on August 7, next Thursday. India may well be without Ishant Sharma, as his injury seems more serious than originally thought. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been poor in this match, and Mohammad Shami has looked very ordinary. Debutant Pankaj Singh, who went for 178 runs without picking a wicket, ended up with the worst bowling figures for anyone on debut in the history of Test cricket. The batting looks hardly better with Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni looking completely out of form. Even the normally consistent Cheteshwar Pujara looks out of form.
