Even though India lost the first test in Birmingham, the re-dawn of their performance in Dharamsala brought pride to their cricket followers. Ashwin’s five-wicket haul helped India dismiss England for a measly 195 all out in the final innings.
Thus, the guests ended up 286 runs on target & dominated by six wickets, ensuring a series for them by clinching it 4-1. But interestingly, this result had a positive outcome in quieting the euphony of the English bazball ploy.
The ‘Bazball’ flame in England had started to flicker, and India was determined to collapse the team’s spirit by butting out the once fervent flame, making their huge lead of 3-1 unassailable. Rohit Sharma’s outfit was tireless in their destruction of the Ben Stokes-driven opposition, who were forced to simply nod their heads in defeat in only their second innings loss in the ‘Bazball’ era. Furthermore, the English effort experienced the opposite of that when the Indian bowlers bowled without respite against the English batting unit.
Fantastically, the tie finished just in three days, with England seeming so anxious to go, thanks to India’s unyielding strength. A consolation victory for England, which would have been nice to see, was unrealizable by their uncompromising fight. As well, the Indian team was largely indebted to the fact that Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill scored centuries and to Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav, who were able to assert their mastery in the field of spin bowling and therefore, gave the England team the devastating failure of their desire of finishing the final test while ensuring that the Indian team moved a step close to the World Test Championship final.
With the remaining splintered English batting lineup, Joe Root, a single soldier, battled the relentless bowling and held ground with his determined 84 in the concluding inning to remind us that home-based batsman is still suitable to play the orthodox classic batsman role against great bowling. However, Root’s hundred in the Ranchi Test and his stalwart stand in Dharmasala displayed the fact that a better result could have been brought forth which could have been a man showing the same resilience from the rest of his squad instead of pounding the Indian bowlers.
Every Test England had won before their Indian tour has been only four among the 18 games of the ‘Bazball’ period. The leadership duo Stokes and McCullum were extremely confident in affirming that their brazen attacking style would prevail over the hurdle of the Indian challenge. Nonetheless, when it came down to the confrontation in Hyderabad where they defeated the opposition, they placed a heavy burden on the Rohit Sharma-led injury-stricken side.
However, no matter how outrageous England’s extravagant approach against India was, it wouldn’t be enough, as India won a decisive victory by 4-1. England had eight losses in the ‘Bazball’ era – an unprecedented drawback for them. At the same time, it was a wake-up call for the aggressive cricket tactics.
