India's batting frailties resurface on tricky Ranchi wicket as England seize control on Day 2

Many a fan had written the England team off after they suffered their heaviest defeat in nearly a century in the form of a 434-run hammering in Rajkot. The Ben Stokes-led side were trailing for the first time in the five-Test series against India even after they landed the first blow in Hyderabad, and the prospect of walking away with the Anthony D’Mello Trophy at the end of the tour in Dharamsala appeared mighty difficult, if not impossible.

Less than a week later, however, the Englishmen have bounced back in style with an all-round display on a tough Ranchi wicket to bolster their hopes of taking the series to a decider in the first week of March. Joe Root led the way on the opening day, shelving the attacking approach that had been his bane so far in this series and grinding his way to a hard-fought 31st Test century, helping the visiting team recover from 112/5 to post a challenging 353.

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Team India had out-batted their opponents so far in the series barring their chase of 231 in Hyderabad, in which they ended up falling short by 28 runs. The Indian supporters would’ve been confident of the home side eclipsing the English total and gaining another sizeable first innings lead, as they had in all three matches before the Ranchi fixture.

On Saturday, however, Team India found itself staring at the prospect of conceding a lead for the first time in the series, crawling their way to 219/7 at stumps. Had it not been for a patient, unbroken eight-wicket partnership between Dhruv Jurel (30 not out) and Kuldeep Yadav (17 not out) worth 42, the home team might have found it tough to even cross the 200-mark.

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As long as Jurel’s around at the crease, Team India can hope of getting close to 300, or even the English total that currently appears well out of reach. Saturday’s events, however, do raise some valid questions with regards to the Indian batting lineup and how they respond on difficult surfaces such as the one prepared at Ranchi’s JSCA International Stadium.

Skipper Rohit Sharma was dismissed early once again, nicking the ball to keeper Ben Foakes to get dismissed off veteran seamer James Anderson’s bowling for a second time this series. The in-form pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill however, got down to work and decided to repair the innings much like they did in the second innings at Rajkot, where they managed to add 154 runs for the second wicket before Jaiswal retired hurt due to back issues.

The two certainly appeared headed in that direction on Saturday as well. Jaiswal did not hold himself back and smacked Anderson for consecutive boundaries just a few minutes after the senior pacer had removed Rohit.

The two would then do an excellent job at mixing caution with aggression, steadily upping the ante once the partnership had crossed the fifty-mark. And at 86/1 in the second half of the afternoon session, the hosts were very much in control of the proceedings and with Jaiswal and Gill at the crease, would’ve been confident of another 400-plus total on the board.

The Ranchi wicket, however, isn’t quite the same as the ones prepared earlier in the series. The ones at Hyderabad, Vizag and Rajkot were sporting wickets that offered the batters as well as seamers support early on the game before beginning to assist the spinners from the evening session of the third day onwards. The one at the JSCA Stadium, however, has had variable bounce from the word go and already has quite a few cracks on the surface, which England’s Ollie Pope had described as a very “platey” surface.

There is, however, only so much influence that a wicket can have on the events of a match, and it ultimately boils down to the individuals out at the centre and how they make the most of the conditions. And this is where Bashir, a relatively unknown name in the English cricket circuit before this tour, hit the ball out of the park with a superb four-wicket haul in a marathon spell that began before lunch and ended on the other side of the tea interval.

The slide began after Gill was trapped leg-before on 38 close to the drinks interval in the second session, ending the 82-run alliance with Jaiswal. Rajat Patidar, who had been retained in the XI despite low returns in Vizag and Rajkot, didn’t look too assured at the centre even though he managed to collect four boundaries, including one off Anderson in which he steered the ball behind square after playing it late to bring up India’s 100.

Like Gill, Patidar was guilty of playing down the wrong line, albeit on the back foot, and became the second of Bashir’s four victims of the day. Ravindra Jadeja continued to bat at the No 5 spot despite a left-hander at the centre and an off-spinner on song, and managed to thump back-to-back sixes off left-arm spinner Tom Hartley. The variable bounce, however, would strike in the very next over as Bashir managed to get one to grip and rear up and get a glove-pad deflection for the all-rounder to get caught by Pope at short leg.

India suddenly were in trouble at 131/4 at the end of the second session. The alarm bells, however, weren’t quite ringing as yet with Jaiswal still at the crease with Sarfaraz Khan for company. Jaiswal was batting confidently after tea, hitting Bashir for three boundaries and he appeared set for another three-figure score.

All it took, however, was for one ball from the offie to stay low after skidding through and catching the southpaw’s under-edge to crash onto the middle stump, leading to delirious celebrations from the Englishmen and especially from the young spinner who had silenced the Ranchi crowd except for the boisterous Barmy Army.

Hartley would soon join the party, getting rid of Sarfaraz and Ashwin in quick succession to leave India gasping for breath at 177/7 and staring at the prospect of conceding a three-digit lead.

Sarfaraz, who got his international career off to a fantastic start with twin fifties in Rajkot, appeared scratchy in his 14 off 53 deliveries that contained a phase where he hadn’t scored a run in 15 deliveries before nicking the ball to the slips where Root would pull off a fine catch.

Ashwin would then join the list of batters confounded by the bounce by getting trapped leg-before by one that skidded through and struck him just above the boot, and went for the review, only for the umpire’s original call to be upheld.

Speaking to reporters after the day’s play, India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey expressed surprise at how the Ranchi wicket has behaved so far in the fourth Test, but at the same time insisting it wasn’t an unplayable one.

“Historically, they slow down and play on the lower side. We expected that, but honestly, we didn’t anticipate it playing so low on the second day itself. The variable bounce was unexpected.

“As of now, I wouldn’t call it as a rank-turner; it’s just that the bounce is low, making batting a bit challenging. I don’t think there were too many balls that spun sharply or were unplayable,” Mhambrey said in the press conference.

Jurel, who made his debut in Rajkot alongside Sarfaraz in Rajkot, would then show the kind of application that others in the Indian middle order had missed and instill some hope in the Indian dressing room with an unbeaten 30. Kuldeep, too, had proved he is more than capable with a bat in hands as evidenced by his knock of 27 in the second innings in Rajkot, and was defending like a pro in the evening session that managed to elicit a chuckle from the likes of Gill and Rohit.

Bashir, meanwhile, will be setting his sights on a five-for on Day 3 and join Hartley in achieving a five-for in his debut series. Things might not have turned out the way England would’ve hoped so far in their tour of India, but boy have they had a couple of impressive debuts.