Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue – Trent Bridge, Nottingham [August 4-8, 2021].
In the summer of 2021, the Indian cricket team toured England to play 5 test matches. Prior to the Test Series, the visitors were also supposed to take part in the inaugural World Test Championship Final. Hence, it was a big English summer which followed for Team India. Unfortunately the Men in Blue lost the WTC Final to the Kiwis in Southampton. It was a tough defeat against the side who knocked them out in the ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final a couple of years ago in Manchester. So it called out for an introspection. And the change did happen for Team India.
In the first test at Nottingham, the visitors came out with a new game plan. Captain Kohli took a tough call of dropping Ashwin and decided to play 4 fast bowlers. For the spin option, he kept Jadeja, but the focus was to develop a strong pace attack. It was a big gamble, as Ashwin is a proven matchwinner who could win games on his own, but his performance overseas has not been that great in comparison to the subcontinent. So the management decided to take this bold step.
On a gloomy day, English Captain Joe Root won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision turned out to be a horrendous one, as the hosts were bowled out for just 183 runs in their first innings. Apart from Captain Root (64), no other English batsman was able to cross the 50-run mark. For India, Bumrah and Shami picked up 4 and 3 wickets, respectively, as the English struggled before the Indian pace battery.
In response, the visitors scored a formidable 278 in their first innings. KL Rahul (84) and Ravindra Jadeja (56) scored gritty fifties as the Indians took a crucial first-innings lead of 95 runs. For England, Anderson and Robinson picked up 4 and 5 wickets, respectively. However, the moment which grabbed the headlines was those two deliveries which Anderson bowled to Pujara and Kohli on the second day. First he got rid of Pujara, as he nicked one off to Buttler. On the very next delivery, Kohli did the same thing as he was dismissed for a rare first-ball duck. The Anderson-Kohli rivalry has been one of the greatest duels of our times, and this time Jimmy got the better of King Kohli. The atmosphere in the ground was deafening when Kohli walked back to the pavilion.
Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
However, the second innings was no different from the first. Joe Root played a captain's knock of 109 as the English were bowled out for 303 in their second innings. Apart from the skipper, every English batsman struggled before the pace and bounce of the Indian fast bowlers. Thus the plan of playing 4 fast bowlers did work for Captain Kohli in Trent Bridge, and it was now almost certain that this is how Team India would play in this series.
The visitors now required 209 runs to win the test and take a 1-0 lead in the series. However, the rain had some other plans, as no play was possible on day 5 of the match. The Indian scorecard read 52/1 when the match was called to an end. It was quite unfortunate that the Indians could not win the test, but the match will always be remembered for the paradigm shift in Indian mentality. The team, which historically relied upon spinners, was now going with an all-round pace attack. It was truly a new Indian side who just wanted not only to win but also to dominate overseas.
To watch the highlights of this test, click on the URLs below.
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