At the foothills of the Himalayas in Dharamsala, there is tranquillity plus a nip in the air. Shubman Gill, the young rock star of Indian cricket, had gone to a famous monastery on Monday. The picture did the rounds on social media, and to see Gill sitting in front of monks was a sight. A day later, on Tuesday, the English cricket team went to meet His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, though it was not publicised for reasons for privacy.
As India and England head into the fifth and decisive Test in a long series, the visitors may be seeking divine Intervention. Having already lost the series in Ranchi, to find motivation and play one more Test will be a test of skills and patience. Surely, they would have got positive energy in many ways in the Himalayas, as they battle to restore their battered and bruised reputation against an upbeat India from Thursday.
Bazball went bust, and Team India, despite facing fitness issues, have come out on top, with skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid having led with flying colours. The biggest positive from this series has been how youngsters have grabbed their chances with both hands and sent a message to the senior pros, not to take anything for granted.
The way Yashasvi Jaiswal has gathered runs, he has been as merciless as Conan the Barbarian. Rohit is fit and hungry and his one ton offered further confirmation that he is ready to lead India in all formats.
What Rohit has done in this series is lead, motivate and be a mentor. One has to look at the future, so he has already ensured players like Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel have been able to soak in the pressure.
Yes, Rajat Patidar has not done well in the previous Tests and Devdutt Padikkal could get a chance. But Rohit would not commit himself on that, and Patidar could well one last opportunity to be part of the middle order of the future.
What Rohit did hint at was an extra seamer coming in. Jasprit Bumrah, rested in Ranchi, could be joined by both Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep. If that happens, Kuldeep Yadav, who has bowled some sensational spells, could be the one to make way.
Frankly speaking, so many emotions in the last Test revolve around two characters who will play their 100th Test at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala – R.Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow.
Ashwin is in good space, having crossed the 500-wicket tally in Tests and taking a five-for in the last outing in Ranchi. At 37-plus, he is eager, hungry and ready to make many more contributions to Indian cricket. There is no way he is going to give up his place in Tests, even though, now and then, the fans will talk of transition. Mentally, he is preparing for the hard series Down Under later this year.
“Ashwin playing 100 Tests is a big achievement,” said Rohit. “He has been a big match-winner for us. Jitna bhi tareef karo utna kam hai (any amount of praise is less). Every series, he has had big contributions. I played under-19 with him when he was an opener. Even I used to bowl then and later became batter.”
As for Bairstow, his is not the case of “Johnny-Come-Lately”. Having scored 5974 runs in 99 Tests and 3868 runs from 107 ODIs, the wicketkeeper-batter from Yorkshire knows his cricket. He is familiar with Dharamsala and will like the conditions, where rain may yet play spoilsport on Day 1.
Bairstow has expressed emotion on the 100th Test, speaking to the English media recently. He lost his father, David Bairstow, tragically many years ago. His mom has battled cancer. The celebration in Dharamsala for his friends and family will be complete if he scores runs after a lean trot. After all, he has been one of the key figures in Bazball.
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“I’m super excited for him (Jonny) and he’s been quite chirpier the last couple of days,” said Ben Stokes, the England captain. “I’ve been there for a lot of his career. Age-group cricket, I played against him and with him. Obviously, we went on to play loads of cricket for England together. He’s one of England’s finest all-format batters, he’s done some unbelievable things with the red ball and the white ball.”
Many weather reports have been discussed in the last few days. This is just the second time Dharamsala is hosting a Test match, the last being against Australia in 2017. Yes, Umesh Yadav bowled well in that Test, but it was not pacers alone who dominated. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Nathan Lyon also took wickets in that match. For the record, India won convincingly.
For all those who think there will be a ting of green on the track, don’t get fooled. There has been a lot of rain in Dharamsala. Ranji Trophy matches here saw fast bowlers use the conditions but, certainly, the curator will not be offering any gifts to England. For the record, Jimmy Anderson, the master of fast bowling and moving the ball, is two wickets short of an incredible 700 in Tests.
With Ollie Robinson too ill to train on Wednesday, Mark Wood will take the new ball alongside Anderson.
Likely XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir, Jimmy Anderson.
The question was, how do we improve on something already this big!
With months of preparations, we can say it’s bigger and better this time! Only a night’s wait till we start India’s biggest ever sports conclave!
We look forward to your presence!@BoriaMajumdar @TataSteelLtd pic.twitter.com/VcFrtTnLvK
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) March 6, 2024