Image Credit- AFP
When England arrived
in Dharamsala, their message was obvious, concise, and, at the end of the day,
straightforward: losing the series 3-2 is preferable to losing it 4-1. They
somehow managed to lose 4-1 in less than two and a half days, falling short in
an innings loss.
Despite England’s protests, the scoreline accurately depicts the difference
between the two teams because that is how scorelines operate. Since winning the
first Test, they have had opportunities in Ranchi and Rajkot that might have
added a bit more significance to this match. Nevertheless, the magnitude of
this loss rests on the uncomfortable background of a team that has transcended
victory, trying to deceive in defeat, and is now merely losing.
Even with superstars
absent and debutants in each of the last four Tests, they have not needed to
take advantage of every 50-50 opportunity that presented itself since the
defeat in Hyderabad to reaffirm their dominance.
Up until these past three days at the HPCA stadium, that is. They were
incomparable to even the Himalayas in skill and stature. What is most damaging
for England is that there was a flagrant mismatch throughout the final 48.1
overs of the series. They were intimidated, physically assaulted, and, in their
most vulnerable moments, a few of them were coerced into compromising some of
the values they have been fighting so hard to uphold for the past eight weeks.
Desperate to break
the tendency, Ben Duckett determined in the second over that he would go down
the pitch to the spinners, something he had never done against Ashwin in any
previous match. Batting past the outside of the ball, which rocked his off
stump, he charged and yorked himself.
During a scoreless stand enforced by Jasprit Bumrah, England’s most dependable
run-scorer on this tour, Zak Crawley, was unable to muster the kind of
counterattacking burst that had been missing from his game. Sarfaraz Khan took
a superb catch when he tentatively pushed to backward short leg, giving him a
16-ball duck.
Before being stopped
in front by Kuldeep Yadav, Jonny Bairstow sparred extensively, but not before
getting into a fight with Shubman Gill. The question of how many century Gill
had made “full stop” came from the now 100-cap batter. The answer is
four, and the 34-year-old needs eight more in the next ten years to tie his
record.
Ashwin’s drift from around the wicket turned Ben Stokes inside out even though
he wasn’t caught on the crease this time.
Especially at the
end, there was a distinct sorrow. The last couple were two absolute English
greats, Joe Root, who stood tall for eighty-four, and James Anderson, who had
taken 700 wickets in Test matches together. The two survivors from the 2012
Nagpur Test match, in which Root, making his debut at the time, helped arrange
a draw in the fourth Test to end India’s previous home series loss.
Following their triumph, Root and Anderson’s time in India consisted of a
series of physically demanding and emotionally exhausting tours. ones that have
challenged the very foundation of the English professional system and forced
teams to reevaluate their goals.
For English cricket,
the past 13 months have been devastating. Things have changed since the last
half of 2022, which started with Stokes and McCullum forming such a remarkable
partnership and included that winter’s T20 World Cup victory. After botching their
first series victory in New Zealand since 2008, the Test team attempted to win
the Ashes for the first time since 2015, but now they are nursing a defeat
against India that appears to be no different from their past disastrous
attempts. There was also a dehumanising defence of the white-ball team’s
50-over title in between whiles.
“The media name
Bazball – everyone says ‘what is it?’ In my opinion it’s wanting to be a better
player. In the face of defeat and failure, Bazball will hopefully inspire
people to become better players and become even better than what we are.”
Of all the definitions ascribed to a term that had previously been rejected by
the England dressing-room since its inception, this is the one they must
embrace.