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India’s Bold Move in Kanpur: Aiming to Secure Crucial WTC Points
India’s Bold Move in Kanpur: Aiming to Secure Crucial WTC Points
KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed quick fifties to lead India before R Ashwin struck twice
Monday the weather was pleasant which allowed the players to have a seamless cricket day for the very first time in the running test match, and now the team India has the responsibility to provide the result in the two days of the cricket match. You could watch any part of the game that happened that day, and it was very clear that India was attacking.
It could have been in the first half-hour when they used a traditional strategy: bowling outside the off-stump with four slips waiting. It could have been an hour later when Mohammed Siraj bowled a short ball to Mominul Haque, right after two short balls were hit for boundaries. It could have been when Rohit Sharma placed two fielders close to the batsman, even though the pitch wasn't helping the bowlers much. It could have been in the final session when Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja used the reverse sweep against Shakib Al Hasan.
It could be any moment at the 514 balls, but Rohit Sharma’s six on the Khaled Ahmed balls was a great start to his innings. At the end of 4th day, Mehidy Hasan said that Bangladesh took two overs to understand the intention of the Indian team and that was already late. At that time, Rohit and Yashavi Jaiswal have already given two sixes and four boundaries.
Records were broken as the fastest 50, fastest 100, fastest 150, fastest 200, and fastest 250 and this wasn’t the baseball Indian team playing. It was the red-ball in T20. They didn’t score at 4.57 runs per over like England, who are known for their fast-paced batting. Instead, they were scoring at 8.22 runs per over.
They weren’t trying to save Test cricket or protect the reputation of Green Park. They were just making the most of their chance, which was slipping away due to the ground conditions in Kanpur, to reach their third consecutive World Test Championship final. Rain had limited play to just 35 overs in the first three days, with Bangladesh scoring 107 for 3. On a pitch that offered little help to both pacers and spinners, taking 17 more wickets and then chasing the target was always going to be a tough task. But with crucial points at stake, India started their effort early.
“Going for the win was our message this morning,” admitted Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, at the end of the fourth day’s play in Kanpur. "After losing two days of the match, we started today with the key focus on showing positive intent. With two days left and extended sessions, there’s still a lot of cricket and time left in the game. It’s important to show that intent. I thought the way the boys bowled up front was incredible.
“It felt like if we weren’t taking wickets, we weren’t making progress, so we created pressure, took wickets, and eventually bowled them out. Showing that intent with the bat was fantastic. I don’t think the opposition’s bowling unit expected that. But it was always part of our game plan to see how we could push forward and achieve a winning result.”
There was uniformity in India's attack that spread from the first over to the last. Whether it was about leaking runs to find a wicket with the ball, or losing a wicket in the quest for quick runs with the bat, India took their risks. Even as by the end of their batting innings the two teams were separated by only 52 runs, it was obvious that the pace of the contest was being dictated by the hosts.
Every time the potency of the attack on the stump line wasn't proving effective, Rohit Sharma remained proactive with some unconventional field placements as well as luring the batters to play on the up. Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan succumbed in quick succession, but Mominul countered that rather effectively, using the pull shot and sweeps to good effect. While the latter was one of his strengths, he negated the short-ball threat by consistently pulling his shots down, while ensuring that he picked his runs through the open space between mid-wicket and deep square leg.
In the company of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the Indian bowlers were kept at bay for around an hour before Bumrah came to deliver yet another momentum-turning spell which ended the partnership and triggered the end of their innings. Amidst all that, Morkel wasn't willing to forget the effort of the fielders. Even as there were three dropped chances on the day, two catches, in particular, stood out: Rohit's one-handed pluck at mid-off to send back Litton, Siraj's mistimed backward dive at long off to dismiss Shakib.
"On a day where it's hot, where conditions are tough, it's going to be hard work," he said. "(As a bowler) You need to feel there's good backing. The boys took those tough chances, those 50-50 chances. So that immediately lifts your energy as a bowler. It sort of brings the energy up in the field. That's so important in this match. (As a fielder) to always expect the ball, to be ready, because wickets aren't easy to come by. And when you get that opportunity to take it."
For as much as India tried to dictate the pace, and quite successfully managed it, they were also aided by some errors from their opposition. Misfields, missed runouts, missed reviews. Two in particular were eye-catching: In the third over of the innings, Bangladesh failed to appeal for a caught behind when Rohit had nicked it. The Indian captain added only four runs from thereon, but similar mercy wasn't dished by the former skipper. Khaled Ahmed attempting to run out Virat Kohli who had given up, decided to throw the ball at the stumps from barely a few inches away and missed it. Kohli who was batting on 2 at that point, added 45 runs in the next 30 balls he faced.
It could have possibly been a part of the pressure that the Indian players had put on their opposition. Even when the field was completely spread out and easy singles were on offer, Indian batters compulsively attempted to go for the big boundaries. The gameplan was left wide open and no surprises were thrown.
Heading into the final day, there are only 26 runs and two wickets separating the two teams. However, the beliefs and intentions of the two teams stand contrastingly different. While India's approach has been quite obvious, Bangladesh are left with two options and Miraz suggests that they are open to both.
"Playing to win requires a lot of time," the all-rounder believes. "If we bat and set a target, we then have to take ten wickets again. For now, it's essential to focus on our safety rather than just thinking about winning. Tomorrow, we aim to bat long. Depending on how things go, we might play to win."
For all of India's dominance and Miraz's conservative assessment, the Kanpur Test is still left almost evenly poised, nearly as much in favour of Bangladesh as it does for the host.
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