Ravichandran Ashwin again showed why he is a match-winner in India with a stirring performance at his home ground in Chennai. It is always special to play at home because, as a kid, one has gone to the same stadium and seen so many matches from the stands. The seats in the stands seem so distant from the champions that are playing out there, and now suddenly, some years later, you are the one in the middle, and so you want to impress the kid in the stand, which you were once.
As a kid, you would have walked from one stand to the other, just excited to be there, and so there’s a familiarity with just about every inch of the ground. The hundred Ashwin got against Bangladesh in the first Test must rank as one of the finest in Indian cricket not just because it came at a time when India were in trouble but also for the fluency and sheer elegance of stroke-making. The pitch had a fair bit of bounce. It wasn’t easy to bat on as the Bangladesh pacers were bowling splendidly too. That’s why it was such a terrific century.
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Chennai has produced some good bouncy pitches in the past too, especially when there were no instructions to prepare turners. The fastest and bounciest pitch I have ever played on was in 1978 against the West Indies. Sylvester Clarke and Co were getting the ball to fly off a length, and on that surface, Gundappa Vishwanath scored the finest Test century I have seen from an Indian batter. Every single century of Vishy has been full of style and strokes of such visual splendour that even now just recalling them brings a smile to the face. On that surface, GRV, a master of playing beside the line of the ball, used that technique to play shots that left Clarke and his colleagues dumbstruck and simply shaking their heads in wonderment. Kapil Dev also got useful runs in his forthright manner and then bowled superbly to win us the game. The learning from that game was simple: technique is fine to some extent, but if you have the temperament to be innovative, you can overcome adversity.
Ashwin’s was a similar knock, though one got to see bits of it on TV. Ravindra Jadeja played the ideal foil, and he also, like Ashwin, is another player who puts his hand up every time India is in trouble. The team is fortunate to have these two, and they lend such a balance to not just the bowling attack but also the batting. The value of all-rounders was once again proved not just by these two Rs but also by another R, Rishabh Pant, who scored a century in the second innings in his comeback Test match. Pant is turning out to be as popular with teammates and opponents as Vishy was, and with him back to form with his chirping behind the stumps, the entertainment factor has gone up manifold. It was also good to see Shubman Gill getting another classy hundred.
Focus on openers
Speaking of allrounders, with Hardik Pandya not yet ready, or so it seems, to bowl more overs, it might be a good idea for the selectors to encourage Venkatesh Iyer to bowl a bit more in the Ranji Trophy. He was not part of any team in the Duleep Trophy, but he is a quality player and a left-handed batter to boot and should be kept an eye on, along with young Nitish Reddy.
Abhimanyu Easwaran’s two hundreds in the Duleep Trophy also should not be overlooked, for in Australia, India will need players who can play the short ball. It would be better to go with more opening batters in the squad as they can bat not only at the top but also in the middle order.
Well begun is half done, so India have started the red ball season with a terrific all-round performance to beat a highly confident Bangladesh. They know there are sterner battles ahead, and the going could get a bit more rough than what was seen in Chennai.
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