India, who haven’t lost two consecutive Tests at home since 2012, will be desperate to make a strong comeback against confident England in second Test starting today
Indian players celebrate dismissing an England batsman during the first Test at Chennai last week. Pic/BCCI
India haven’t lost two Tests in a series at home since 2012-13 against England. And the last time they lost the first two Tests in their own backyard was more than two decades back, when South Africa swept a two-match showdown in early 2000.
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Whether Virat Kohli’s side are aware of these stats, or even care about them, is open to debate. What is not, is that they have to up their game over the next five days at the MA Chidambaram Stadium if they are to purge memories of the heavy 227-run defeat in the first Test at the same venue.
Home familiarity
India are no strangers to bouncing back from adversity. As recently as in their last series, they made light of an extraordinary sequence of misfortunes, including being shot out for their lowest Test score, to beard the Australian lion in its own den. The familiarity of home comfort, and the security that they are at near full-strength, should help them tide over any hangover lingering from the debacle earlier this week.
Starting from the toss, everything went England’s way in the series-opener. Drawing inspiration from the Indian template, they batted big with skipper Joe Root at the forefront in the best batting conditions of the match. A notoriously slow surface and a rapidly softening ball killed not just India’s penetration but also their spirit; ragged and erratic, India ended up conceding 578, then gifted away top-order wickets to surrender a decisive 241-run advantage.
Not even a much improved second-innings bowling display could neutralise the skew. The match had been won and lost in the first innings, with the toss having a larger say than it should have. India’s interests will be served best if they put the first Test down as an aberration and treat this as a three-match series, something they have successfully done in the past.
Frenetic efforts to provide a surface offering faster turn from the off notwithstanding, India will need their batsmen to pull up their socks. Kohli uncorked a masterclass in the second innings, but in this part of the world, it’s the first-innings runs that matter.
Anderson rested
Against a rejigged England attack-James Anderson (rested), Jofra Archer (injured) and Dom Bess (dropped) are all missing—India’s batsmen must flex their muscle if they are to give their bowlers enough runs, and time, to bowl England out twice.
England’s vulnerability under pressure was evident during their strange second-innings batting stint in the first Test. If India can exert, and sustain, that pressure at the first time of asking, the 15,000-plus spectators should get their money’s worth.
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