Ranchi, Feb 23
At different times during India’s practice session on Wednesday, their trifecta of spinners inspected the pitch for the Ranchi Test. A padded-up Kuldeep Yadav strode in first, swishing his bat, had a couple of quick glances before hurrying to the practice ground, cutely named the Oval. Ravindra Jadeja walked in next, after he had wrapped up his session, peered at the patch with dry grass. Ashwin lingered longer, probing the surface from various angles. In the absence of their best friend in this series, Bumrah, the spinners would hope the pitch would dust up its old affection.
The spinners indeed have played their support cast roles in putting India 2-1 up but Bumrah has played the lead act. He has not only been India’s leading wicket-taker, but also the only bowler who seemed like he could rip through an attack. In a sense the whole talk of India serving up a turner originates from Bumrah’s absence, from the doubt that whether the spinners alone could stop the Bazballers on a benign turner. Bumrah has been the new-ball intimidator, the reverse-swing executioner, the middle-over marauder, the soul and voice of the team. To overshadow a group of spinners with a collective haul of 831 demonstrates the insuperable versatility of his craft. That India would miss him is an understatement—Vikram Rathour would sigh that they would have played him for every game but for workload management. That England would be relieved is obvious—“it’s great not to see him here,” Ollie Pope would admit. It’s hard to think of a precedent when an Indian fast bowler was a more fearsome proposition at home than their lineage of world-beating spinners. India’s spinners too would miss him, especially in the turgid nothing-is-happening middle overs, when Bumrah would storm in and suddenly whip up some magic and create an illusion that a whole lot is happening in the middle. In England’s first innings in Rajkot, England were smooth-sailing at 224/2 when Bumrah induced madness in the brain of Joe Root.
, and triggered the England implosion. They would add just hundred more runs.
In the second innings, he tone-set the spinners’ carnage with a scything opening spell of 8-1-18-1. In Visakhapatnam, he produced an immortal spell of devilish reverse-swing in the first innings, grabbed three including that of Jonny Bairstow and set up a few more in the second innings. Twenty minutes before lunch on day three, with England on 184/4 and the game on a knife’s edge, Rohit Sharma recalled Bumrah. The English batsmen froze and before they parted for lunch, they lost two more wickets and were out of the game.
It’s what Bumrah instigates–fear, panic and mistakes. He makes things happen, from nothing and nowhere, at the opening, middle-game and the endgame. Filling up the Bumrah-shaped hole, especially in the middle-overs, would be the spinners’ biggest challenge and duty.
IND vs ENG 4th Test: Kuldeep YadavRajkot: India’s Kuldeep Yadav with Rohit Sharma celebrates the wicket of England’s Ben Duckett during the 3rd day of the 3rd cricket test match between India and England, at Niranjan Shah Stadium, in Rajkot, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. So far in this series, the pitch has not been as conducive to their craft as it has been in the recent past. All three surfaces aided spin to varying degrees and at different junctures. All three spinners did wield their influence at various points. Ashwin’s lengths were delightful in the chase in Visakhapatnam; Jadeja was the quick-kill merchant in the second dig in Rajkot and Kuldeep blended cunning with discipline in his 12-over spell in the first innings in Rajkot.
The trio have accounted for 31 wickets at 29.6. The numbers are commendable without being flattering. English batsmen could apportion some of the credit, especially their utter proficiency in disheveling the spinners’ length, employing the assortment of sweeps to good effect.
But historically, India’s spinners begin to daunt on overseas batsmen as the series progresses. Once they size up the batsmen, dissect their weaknesses and strengths, and cope with the nature of the surfaces, they transform into an infallible proposition. Jadeja, for instance, was a vastly different bowler in the second innings in Rajkot than he was in the second dig in Hyderabad. The sweep didn’t throw him off-kilter here—he altered his lengths and varied his pace that both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow perished when attempting to sweep him. And altered his line to induce an error from Ben Stokes’ slog sweep in the first innings.
His accomplice, Kuldeep shed his restlessness to be among the wickets and showed his knack to stifle the batsmen in his forgotten 12-over spell for 35 runs on the third morning in Rajkot, after the England batters had plundered him for runs the day before. Among the three, Ashwin, the butcher of batsmen in India, had to wait the longest for his wickets, his eleven scalps coming at 34. His supremeness had shone only sporadically, but only a fool would write him off in these conditions. But they now have to strike without Bumrah.
England, in their pursuit of 399, are 184/4 with Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow batting with relative freedom and comfort, stitching a partnership of 40 runs in 10 overs. Then arrives Bumrah, piles on the pressure, forces England to counterpunch. In the bargain, Kuldeep Yadav snaffled Crawley and Bumrah snares Bairstow. England fold up for 292, courtesy again a fierce Bumrah spell.
England began the third day on 202 for 2 in 35 overs. He bowled seven fiery overs to shift the momentum. In the 40th over, he provokes a moment of brain-fade from Root, who attempted to reverse scoop and self-destroyed. Kuldeep would then eject Jonny Bairstow, and England would soon crumble.
