Boria Majumdar
It is all about intensity. That’s what Test cricket is about. And when you have control, you make the most of it and punish the opposition. That’s what India did at Headingley on Day 1. It was indeed a good toss to lose, for Shubman Gill too would have bowled first according to what he said after the coin was flipped. That England opted to bowl could well cost them this game.
The first two hours defined India’s batsmanship. They were prepared to grind it out, play close to the body, leave balls outside off stump and refocus if they were beaten. That’s what Test match batting is about. They respected the ball, and not the bowler. Played balls on merit, and for the first 100 minutes, England were made to toil. That’s what set the tone. Any team that wins the toss expects to get at least three wickets before lunch in helpful bowling conditions, and that’s where England failed. No bowler delivered a stellar spell, and it took Ben Stokes to come and bowl a peach to get rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
While all of us will be speaking about Jaiswal and Gill, a word on KL Rahul is very much in order. Not only did he blunt the new ball, he also made sure that Gill and co came into bat with the sun out and the ball not doing much anymore. India have struggled with starts in the past and that’s where Rahul and Jaiswal stood up on day 1. By the time Gill came in, India had control. And Jaiswal was waiting to cut loose.
It was in the two hours between lunch and tea that India took charge. Some sublime shots from both batters and, yet again, it was the intensity. Not once did it dip and not once were England allowed a sniff. Even after Jaiswal got out, there was no let up. Pant came out beligerently but then played sensibly and was prepared to hold back until he got close to his 50. Stokes did tempt him with Shoaib Bashir, but Pant wasn’t willing to give up and fall into the trap. Defending well is also about intensity. You need to be intense to be able to tell yourself not to do anything rash, and that’s what Pant did.
If India show the same intensity on day 2, where rain is predicted after noon local time, they could well control the game from then on. Once the air turns heavy with rain and bad weather around, the Indian pacers will surely get help. With three fast bowlers plus Shardul Thakur, India will have enough to make the most of the support on offer. In fact, it will yet again be about intensity. Now from the bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah.
Once you have a 500-plus score on the board, you know you usually won’t lose. You can attack from the word go, and do not have to think about saving runs. If the bowlers bowl with the same intensity that we saw on day one, there is no reason why India shouldn’t start to dream. For the moment, however, two more sessions of batting intensity are what the doctor has ordered for India.