England are in dire straits in the fourth Test that commenced at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Thursday. Whether the decision by England skipper Joe Root to bat first on a slightly fast wicket against a formidable Indian pace attack was wrong? Or did the Indians bowl well? These are the questions that should cloud the minds of several cricket aficionados.
With 57 for four at Lunch England were looking like minnows in front of some good quality stuff unleashed by Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami.
The initial breakthroughs were provided by Bumrah and Sharma while later it was Shami who wrecked the middle order by claiming two vital wickets of Ben Stokes (23) and Jos Buttler (21).
With 2-1 up in the series, England actually presented India with a great opportunity to make a comeback in the series and make the fifth and final Test a decisive one. The decision to make India bowl on a slightly fast wicket with a little bit of moisture wasn’t a great decision by captain Root.
Bumrah’s unusual delivery and Sharma’s ‘hitting the deck’ actually kept the English batsmen on tenterhooks from the very first delivery. Then came Hardik Pandya and Shami which made the Englishmen’s task harder.
The wicket which had a tinge of grass promised to help the pacers more than spinners and India rightly went in with four fast bowlers including all-rounder Pandya. The all-rounder was a find of sorts in India’s 203-run victory in the last Test at Northampton.
However, the fact that the Rose Bowl wicket has an average fourth innings score of 180s must have played at the back of Root’s mind to bat first on winning the toss. Whether this decision will backfire on hosts will be known in a couple of days’ time. For now, one should wait for a good tussle irrespective of who win or lose.