England's tour of India - 2021

[LiveLoveABD]

Jonathan Agnew is raging.

"You have got to be honest and say if this match was staged anywhere else in the world the ICC would be crawling all over it and Chennai would be taken off the hosting list. This is not a pitch Test cricket should be played on. It is a lottery. It is disappointing. It is not an advert for Test cricket."

"I am sure Axar Patel is a very nice chap. He looks a decent steady left-arm bowler. The fact he puts no revolutions on the ball and it is turning square probably tells you everything you need to know about this pitch.

We love Test cricket. There is no point playing it on pitches like this."

This is a proper sub continent track and one that is much better than the first test. The only thing I will say is that it would be more fair if England won the toss. It's not like we go to England and we don't see tracks where it's hard to make out where the pitch is with all the grass cover.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

What a beauty to get Stokes!! Peach!

Ashwin needs to stop diving around in the field. Already Jadeja is out and 1-0 behind we need him fit and firing!

 

[wasteyouryouth]

This is no excuse. An English side went on to win a series on surfaces like these back in 2012. If they don't win matches on these surfaces then there are 2 things:-
1) They are lacking tactics
2) They lack the skill requirement to beat India in these conditions

I am not saying that this is a good batting surface but then you can manage to score if you bat well. If in 2012 England can bowl India out twice under 250 and score 500 runs then why can't they do that now?

We had Cook, Prior, Pietersen, Trott and Bell. They'd all walk into this team (Prior would probably have to wrestle Jos Buttler's gloves off Ed Smith and @blockerdave would probably be raging about Bell). Not to mention Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.

I only woke up after lunch so maybe England is batting poorly. I mentioned the crowd after the last match, and lack of it, wonder if that's a factor. Makes batting a fairly different environment.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Based on first test then:

1) India are lacking tactics
2) India lack the skill requirement to beat England in these conditions

You do know it was the first one.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

 

[Bigby Wolf]

So basically there is a difference of opinion every where.

I am in that Vaughan zone. Somehow I feeling chasing on raging turners is very difficult.

On a track like this even a Dean Elgar and Michael Clarke can run through a side.

 

[blockerdave]

I think any pitch where the ball goes through the top on day 1 isn’t good enough. I’d say that whoever won the toss and however the game went.

however what I actually came on to post was to say I’m a bit disappointed in Kuldeep, I just feel any left arm chinaman should have a weird action but his bid quite normal.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Andy Zaltzman

"England have now batted longer than India lasted in their first innings against England at Lord's in 2018. Which was harder to bat on?"

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

I think any pitch where the ball goes through the top on day 1 isn’t good enough. I’d say that whoever won the toss and however the game went.

however what I actually came on to post was to say I’m a bit disappointed in Kuldeep, I just feel any left arm chinaman should have a weird action but his bid quite normal.

At the end of the day it is about a rhythm that gets the bowler going.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Andy Zaltzman

"England have now batted longer than India lasted in their first innings against England at Lord's in 2018. Which was harder to bat on?"

Pitch wasn't but conditions and bowling was hard to play with the line-up we had. 2018 Lord's Test was more of a failure of the Indian batting line-up.

 

[blockerdave]

Andy Zaltzman

"England have now batted longer than India lasted in their first innings against England at Lord's in 2018. Which was harder to bat on?"

As George Dobell said James Hildreth scored runs on pitches like this for years

(and what I would add, they were written off as easy runs)

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

What an excellent catch from Rishabh Pant!!!! Now the argument about his poor keeping should just end.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Oh, Ollie Pope. A bit of a respite from spin and he gloves a horrible loosener.

Superb catch from Pant.

 

[Bevab]

Awful shot from Pope. Siraj should be the fourth choice seamer now without any doubt with a chance to pip Shami on away tours.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

87/6 and Moeen walking in. Remember 2018 Southampton Test anyone?