Bat once, and bowl the opposition out twice. That was the plan laid down by Virat Kohli at the start of the series. The first Test in Antigua went as per the script. At Sabina Park, despite a total wash out on Day 4, the West Indies were tottering at 48/4 and things were going as per plan. With 98 overs left in three sessions, a sunny forecast for the last day and five bowlers to choose from, the Indian skipper would have slept peacefully.
Twenty four hours later though, he was ill at ease, and at a loss of words to explain the stunning draw earned by the West Indies. “It is a pity we lost most of [Day 4’s] play [to rain]. But that is no excuse and credit to the way West Indies played today. When you lose a Test and are behind in the second one, it takes something special to save the match,” he said in the post-match presentation.
Surprisingly then, he didn’t show up for the customary post-match press conference afterwards. Perhaps he was a little jaded, somewhat frustrated after a hectic day of cricket. Maybe he also wanted to avoid some unsavoury questions, the first of which would have been about his team’s failure to press for a win from a position of dominance.
West Indies's wonderful fightback
Let it be said here that it was a wonderful fightback from the West Indies. Roston Chase’s knock will go down as one of the great innings in their recent disappointing history. It encircled everything that was desired of a young and inexperienced side. There was some determination, a lot of grit and even more patience, traits needed to succeed at the Test level, and something cricketers in the Caribbean were thought to be lacking in this T20 era.
Furthermore, it was a massive improvement in their showing from the first Test. This would seem obvious, but from the West Indies’ perspective. For them, it wasn’t about holding off another Indian onslaught. It was about playing for pride, as skipper Jason Holder put it, both from a personal and team point of view. And they did, showcasing great perseverance against great odds as their lower order stuck it out against a bowling attack of high calibre.
It puts into perspective India’s bowling on this final day in Jamaica, and their attack’s failure to take six wickets on a Day 5 pitch. Sure, after constant rain and sunshine on consecutive days, the wicket had eased out and wasn’t as helpful for the bowlers as it was on the first three days. It was a throwback to the MS Dhoni era, wherein Indian bowlers struggled overseas for a lack of assistance. Johannesburg 2013 and Wellington 2014 are two prime examples.
But this inability to take 20 wickets on flat tracks was the reason why five bowlers are now regularly a part of the playing XI. It is also a firm marker of the Kohli era where aggression is the watchword. While it has made for some exciting cricket in the last 18 months or so, there can be occasions when it doesn’t work. Wednesday, in Kingston, was one such day as Kohli found out.
It started with Jermaine Blackwood’s second counter-attack in two innings. In a way, his two half-centuries were nearly identical – coming off 47 and 41 balls respectively, as he resurrected the innings on both occasion, then got out just before lunch. For good measure though, this second half-century knocked the Indians back more than the one on Day 1.
India's two mistakes
While he kept the scoreboard ticking, Chase looked to settle down. This was a crucial phase of play, given how Kohli talked about the ball going soft later on. As such, herein, India made two mistakes. The first, obviously, was holding Ashwin back until the first hour of play was over. This is the world’s No 1 Test bowler and he should have been bowling from the word go. Instead, he was brought on in the 28th over of the innings when Blackwood-Chase were already well set and executing their plan.
The second mistake was a follow-up of the first one. With Ashwin sidelined, the pacers were given longer spells in the first session with the hope of recreating their efforts from Day 4. It didn’t work, for the pitch had eased out, and Kohli ought to have seen it coming when Blackwood belted Shami in his second over of the day. It should have been another hint to hand the ball to Ashwin, but Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav were persisted with.
Even so, they were undone strategically by Blackwood’s innings, and this is the big surprise. After what happened in the first innings, how could they not be prepared for a similar eventuality in the second innings? Was it a case of complacency, even the tiniest bit, from the visitors that cost them victory? Faced with an unhelpful pitch, was it a case of not getting things done on their feet?
The pacers bowled short, in a bid to contain runs, and didn’t attack the batsmen enough on a wicket that wasn’t assisting them anymore. Amit Mishra had an off day, and by the time Ashwin came on, much had been lost in terms of the ball’s hardness. From thereon, it was about consistently pushing and waiting for the second new ball. In this department at least, they get full marks.
For three and a half days, India dominated with both bat and ball. There was much to celebrate in the fiery bowling of Mohammed Shami, another five-wicket haul by Ashwin, some brilliant batting by both KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane. There were bits to ponder over as well, pertaining to Cheteshwar Pujara’s low scoring-rate.
All of that, however, has been pushed into the backseat. By some rain, and a magnificent Chase hundred.
