India v England: All-round England can claim victory in second Test
Other than not being able to get over the line, things couldn’t have gone much better for England in the first Test against India in Rajkot.
Dominating the game ever since captain Alastair Cook won the toss, the tourists put on 537 in the first innings, with Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes all making centuries.
Their bowlers, Adil Rashid in particular, equipped themselves well to gain a lead, before Cook (130) and debutant Haseeb Hameed combined to give England a shot at victory.
That they were able to take six wickets in just 52 overs and give India a scare shows how well they fought — on a less benign pitch they surely would have sealed victory.
With plenty expecting England to be taken apart by a home side well-versed in these conditions, the backbone showed by the tourists will please Cook greatly.
The two teams travel to Visakhapatnam for the next match, starting tomorrow, with the groundsman reportedly quoted that the pitch will be far more agreeable for the bowlers.
That will please Indian spinners R Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja and Amit Mishra, who struggled to get anything out of the Rajkot road.
Mishra in particular will be happy — he took 5/18 off six overs in a recent ODI with New Zealand at the ground.
However, England’s spin trio of Ali, Rashid and Zafar Ansari all performed well in the last game and will hope for similar returns here.
Indeed, with Stuart Broad and Stokes providing reverse-swing, and England’s batters on form, the tourists will fancy going one better than at Rajkot and claiming victory.
So much of the Test match will depend on the toss, but there is a lot to like about this England team. The bowling attack of three seamers and three spinners looks well varied, and the all-round abilities of Ali and Stokes means the side is packed full of batsmen too.
Hameed already looks a natural at this level, and with Cook and Root bang in form, this looks like a side that can produce something special.
It might be worth waiting until the coin comes down, but if Cook calls correctly, I’ll be backing England at 3.60 with Sportsbet.io.
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