A number of interruptions due to bad light failed to dent the concentration of Indian captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane as they steered India to 146 for the loss of three wickets on the first day of their World Test Championship final against New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton today.
The perception is that the Indian batsmen have weathered the storm well, especially the openers Rohit Sharma and young Shubman Gill, but tomorrow is another day. Can the Indian batsmen rake up a decent total from here or will the Kiwi seamers strike back?
Anis Sajan, Mr Cricket UAE, looks ahead at how the next four days of the Test may pan out with Shyam A. Krishna & Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editors of Gulf News.
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Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
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#UAEnews #cricket #WorldTestChampionship
The perception is that the Indian batsmen have weathered the storm well, especially the openers Rohit Sharma and young Shubman Gill, but tomorrow is another day. Can the Indian batsmen rake up a decent total from here or will the Kiwi seamers strike back?
Anis Sajan, Mr Cricket UAE, looks ahead at how the next four days of the Test may pan out with Shyam A. Krishna & Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editors of Gulf News.
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #cricket #WorldTestChampionship
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NewsTranscript
00:00What a cracker of a start we've had in this test match today.
00:03Obviously, New Zealand winning the toss and keeping in mind the conditions they put India in.
00:15Hello everyone. Welcome back to Straight Bad with Gulf News and Mr Cricket UAE. That's Anish
00:20Sarjan. With me is Anish Sarjan and along with us is Gautam Bhattacharya as we discuss day two of
00:26the World Test Championship in Southampton. It is the ultimate test but it is good to go out
00:31to a damp start yesterday with the first day being lost to rain and bad weather. But we have
00:37some action today but a large part of the day was lost but at least we got the match going.
00:43Anish over to you for the impressions on the second day two of the ultimate test.
00:50Thank you Shyam. Good to have you Gautam. You know what a cracker of a start we've had in
00:55this test match today. Obviously, New Zealand winning the toss and keeping in mind the conditions
01:00they put India in. But the way both our openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill played the first
01:06hour probably almost we were on 20 over 60 runs. They made sure they left the good balls
01:13and pounced on the weak balls and India looked like in control till we saw India's nemesis
01:20Jameson coming and picking up the wicket of Rohit Sharma where he played a nothing shot.
01:25This is his weakness generally and in England you generally don't place the shots otherwise you pay
01:29the price. So did it happen with Neil Wagner, rather the warrior I would call him. He keeps
01:35on coming up with these great deliveries and the inexperience of Gill could pay
01:44the price and he got out. And then India were in a situation where they were not out of it. They had
01:49Virat Kohli and Pujara got a beauty of a delivery from Trent Boult and at that time probably
01:55New Zealand had the edge but you have to give credit to the way Virat Kohli and Rahane both
02:00have stitched a decent partnership and has brought India back into the game. India has not run away
02:05with the game but mind you on this wicket and this seeming conditions where the ball was seeming
02:09around throughout the day both these batsmen have given India the little bit of upper hand.
02:15Kirtam, what's your take, what's your impressions of today's game?
02:25Yes Shyam, I mean see whatever play was possible. Circumstances are obviously
02:32you know in nobody's control but whatever test wicket was possible a very absorbing day of test
02:38wicket I would say. Firstly the openers and then you know when Kohli and Rahane were batting
02:45one thing became very clear that you know we were discussing the other day about
02:50lack of you know match time and all that but they had done their homework as to how they would go
02:55about their task to negate the swing of the New Zealand bowlers. The way they were taking their
03:00guard and the way they approached their job. I mean Rohit's shot that you know that
03:08going for that first time I think he played a little away from his body and he played the
03:12penalty. So Indians were also ready and absorbing days cricket and you know we have got four days to
03:20go. So we see a result I mean I was seeing in the social media that people already started
03:26getting restive about bad light but there's very little that you can do about it, isn't it?
03:33Yeah, I mean the climate is not or the weather is not in your control but let's focus on the
03:38cricket part of it. Some things we got right, some things we didn't. I mean at least let me put
03:44my hand up and say I got something wrong and something's right. I said that I would want
03:51to bat first or sorry I would want to bowl first. That's precisely what Kane Williamson did
03:56and I think that was a no-brainer because given the conditions and given the weather
04:01I think that is perhaps the most prudent thing to do. Even Kohli said that he would have batted
04:06despite having two spinners in the squad but what I also said that if New Zealand bowls first
04:14within the first five overs both the openers will be in the pavilion but that didn't happen.
04:20In fact, it took 88 minutes for Rohit's first false shot but the way the both the
04:26openers are pushed like you said that's superb. So I think partly to blame is the New Zealand
04:33attack because they I mean I think especially Tim Sodhi, I think he wasted it far too many balls.
04:40See this is the problem with bowlers even at the highest level. Even if the wicket is helpful
04:45they tend to get carried away and tend to spray the ball around. If you remember even in
04:50spinning wickets the spinners sometimes may not be very
04:56what do you call? In fact, they get carried away by the turn and they spin it too much so that
05:03missing the ball. Here it was a classic case where Sodhi was bowling either wide or down the
05:09leg side instead of making the batsman play. When the ball is moving around you need to make the
05:13batsman play which he didn't and whenever he got it in line I think both Subramanian Gill and
05:19Rohit Sharma were up to the task. In fact, I saw them both of them were standing well
05:25outside their crease so that they can smother the movement much earlier or
05:32wouldn't allow the ball to swing too much. So there were very promising signs. I think the
05:37the rewards were there and in fact even the way which Kohli batted is so superb. He had just
05:421-4 in his 44 but he was vigilant, watchful and not a foul stroke there. So what do you make of
05:50Kohli's innings? I'm glad you brought up that point about just 1-4 in his innings.
05:57That is the point which I want to talk about Rohit Sharma and Subramanian Gill.
06:01Rohit Sharma went on to score 34s, hit six boundaries and Subramanian Gill hit three
06:07boundaries of 28. So what probably the only flaw I would probably say between both of them was that
06:14they hardly took singles. Their running between the wickets was not up to the mark and that is
06:20what with probably with time Subramanian Gill will definitely learn. Rohit Sharma has played enough
06:24wicket to understand this. Now this is required in test cricket. You know test cricket is not about
06:28boundaries. Okay, you know you have the Vedendra Sehwag or you have probably the David Warner
06:33hitting the boundaries but in test cricket you need to rotate the strike and even though India
06:37had a decent start in where as I said 20 overs, they scored 60 runs but there was more to, as you
06:42mentioned, New Zealanders not bowling the right length, not making enough balls to play. They
06:48were not pulling the right channel and that is where India capitalized on the loose balls which
06:53was on the pad or it was too short but nonetheless you have to give the credit to the openers. They
06:58solved that tricky period even though it was seeming and swinging for almost 60 overs but
07:06nutshell Virat Kohli's innings was the innings which shows how test cricket needs to be played
07:11in this sort of conditions. Gautam, I think that the partnership 58 run unbeaten partnership
07:20with Rahane and Kohli I think steering towards a bit of relative safety. What do you say?
07:29You cannot really, yes I mean given the time lost in first display you can say
07:35they are not badly placed but once again if you look at the circumstances
07:41were very challenging. I mean the run rate is somewhat at around 2.5. So definitely
07:48they have done a good job. As to the safety part, we'll see tomorrow how
07:54things shape but they have really stepped off the initial part of the challenge where our
08:00apprehensions were lying. They have done very well on that score. Why I said relative safety
08:07was they could have easily lost five wickets and if you lost five wickets then you're looking down
08:11the barrel so that didn't happen. So Anish, who was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers for you?
08:21Honestly, Kyle Jemisin who made sure that he bowled in the right
08:27corridor. If you have to even give credit to Colin Goodram, he generally is known to
08:34bowl in these conditions with the right length. He went for four boundaries. I think Rohit Sharma
08:38first hit him three boundaries. Every over is to hit every boundary. But if you look at his analysis
08:4311 overs and 23. So all the bowlers bowled well but they had the conditions. They could have
08:49probably utilized the conditions much better. Made India play more than to leave and that is what
08:54India capitalized on. And like Mr. Gautam said that India definitely is still not out of it,
08:59out of the woods. But 260-270 on this wicket and then of course when the spinners come into play,
09:05if the sun comes out, we probably are in the driver's seat. Gautam, do you see any chance of
09:15spinners making an impact in this game? Because we have two spinners in the side and the general
09:21impression is fourth and fifth day they could come into the equation. So now with India
09:27batting first, that means you New Zealand will be batting last, I mean if it goes the distance.
09:32So how much do you think an impact the Indian spinners will have?
09:38Yes, I think New Zealand may have missed a trick in finally deciding to keep
09:45Patel out because you see, I mean whenever the sun is up, I mean you could be, we have all seen
09:52the wicket as it is but there could be a bit of a rough created and that's where
09:58the spinners may even get a grip. You don't have to wait till the fourth or fifth day
10:03but maybe by the second day, later half or even third day early on.
10:10And India has spoiled for choice but if New Zealand had that one guy who's a genuine spinner
10:17then it would have made a difference to their attack and we can't help but agree on one front
10:23that there is a bit of a sameness in the New Zealand attack. I mean you've got a relentless
10:30seam and swing attack fine and then you've got random. So some change of pace and whatever be
10:37the condition of the wicket, I think tends to help. Did New Zealand miss Ajaz Patel?
10:46Now when I look at how India has batted, I definitely feel. If India would
10:51have been bowled out for 150, probably you wouldn't have been talking about this.
10:55But India like when Virat Kohli was asked at the toss, would you like to change your decision
11:00about the squad you've announced? He says our bowlers are equipped for all sort of conditions
11:04and by batting out in the tough conditions, India has proved that they've gone with the right squad
11:10and definitely even Shane Warne tweeted that not playing a spinner and let me remind you
11:15Shyam since you mentioned this. The last test match which India played here against the Englishmen,
11:21Mohin Ali was the man of the match where he picked up nine wickets in the test match. He picked up
11:25Virat Kohli's wicket. He picked up most of the important wickets. So spin definitely comes into
11:30play. No matter sun or not, you're going to see spin come somewhat and we have two of the best
11:35spinners. So you have to feel that New Zealand probably went too many of seamers in. I'm not
11:42saying because their India is a little better on the side but you cannot have the sameness as
11:47Gautam said in their variety. You need to have a little bit of spinner. Yeah, five seamers it's
11:55too much, isn't it? Like you can understand four seamers and a spinner maybe yes but five seamers,
12:01that's a bit of overloading of the same attack.
12:08Then now, if Patel may not have come into the equation in the first day itself but maybe in
12:15later as the match progresses maybe that would have been a role for Ajax Patel in this match.
12:22Do you think it'll come back to haunt them, Gautam?
12:28You mean not choosing the spinner? Yes, definitely that variety is
12:36missing as of now what we have seen but I think India have batted today something like 64
12:42points sum overs. So the moment the new ball is due, they're going to take a crack at it
12:50and once again, I mean if play starts on time tomorrow because as Anisbhai was saying that
12:55the forecast in the initial part of the day is not very good. Then again, it's just
13:00another day and I'm sure Kohli and Rahane will start afresh as if they're starting from zero.
13:06Why I harp on the spinning thing is even after 64 overs, the Duke ball is still swinging.
13:13I want to add on this point. Let Gautam finish first.
13:20That is something you see this, I want to ask both of you. I mean what Nasir Hussain was saying
13:26that this Duke ball apparently once the lacquer goes off, it starts
13:32swinging more after about 12 or 15 overs. So that makes the behavior a little
13:39unpredictable whether there are chances of getting a bit of
13:44reverse swing. Though we didn't see much of it today, I think. No, but we saw
13:52conventional thing even after 60 overs ball, there was conventional swing which means
13:57the conditions are still heavily in favor of swing balls.
14:05You know what I wanted to say, when it spins in India on first day, there is a lot of grudge and
14:12a lot of complaint that you have not prepared a wicket which is good for international cricket.
14:18And it swings even after 60 overs and it seems after 60 overs, then they say that you need to
14:23adapt to the conditions. I mean, this is double standards of cricket. I mean, you cannot be
14:28cribbing when you come to Asia. Absolutely, Gautam. You got to accept it was seeming and
14:36swinging and you have to give credit to the Indian boys. They have adapted well. They have
14:40learned from their past mix how to play. They don't complain. So when the Goras come to India,
14:46I'm afraid they start complaining, especially Michael Vaughan who's always on his
14:51tweet that India makes wickets to suit spinners. Why not? That is an entirely different conversation,
14:59Nainish, because if you look at every single country, they prepare wickets to their advantage.
15:06I mean, you don't expect England or Australia to give you spinning wickets, do you?
15:11I mean, same way, when you come to India, you don't expect people to India to give you
15:16seeming wickets. So that's why I'm saying you don't complain. You got as the guy says,
15:22love the commentary of Kumar Sanghakara. He says, whichever country you go, you need to adapt to
15:26the conditions. You cannot complain. If you're a good player, you prove it by adapting to that
15:31conditions. Yeah, that is where the home and away matches come in. True.
15:40I think Shama here, I mean, just maybe you will ask him, ask about it or we will talk
15:47about it at some point in the next few days. But this is where the case for at least a two,
15:53best of two, if not three, you know, with this tight FTP, three may be difficult. But a best of
16:00two at least is called for. I mean, if this test ends in a draw, then that will be really...
16:10I'm totally with you on that simply because normally test is not a one-off match, isn't it?
16:16Given anything, we call it a test series. So at least there should be a minimum of three tests
16:23to decide the winner. So one-off test, I mean, that's unheard of. The only time I can remember
16:30is when memorial tests like centenary test, those kind of times, that's the only time you would get
16:35to hear of one-off test. I think by having just one test final, I think that is completely
16:42incongruous with the general sentiment or even that's not what the series are about. It is a
16:49series and this is no series. So I think the ICC has got it completely wrong here. What do you
16:56guys think about that? Yes, I'm sure with time, Shyam, they will probably look into this because
17:01this test series, rather the World Test Championship has been going on for two years because of the
17:06pandemic. And when you put in, you know, almost 55 test matches were played in this whole ICC
17:12championship. And you don't want to have a one-off test match where one team probably has an
17:17advantage and runs away with the match. So you would rather like to give equal importance, a
17:21chance to the other team to come back in the series. So maybe in the near future, they might
17:25have a best of three series if they really want to know who's the best team in the world.
17:30Absolutely. And also, see, to have, I would even take it a little further, Gautam. Here,
17:36even a best of three, I am not in favor of that simply because
17:42the test series are always home and away matches. So even a final also, they should find a way
17:48where you can fit in home and away matches. But I think that's asking for too much simply because
17:52given the commitments of the teams and given the way that cricket calendar is shaped,
17:59I think they might be asking too much. But this one-off test, I'm completely with you on that.
18:04I mean, I remember even Shastri and Kohli made a mention of this in their press conferences that
18:11they would rather have a three-test series. But coming back to this
18:15match, do you guys see a result here? Or do we lose more time to implement weather? Gautam?
18:25Why not? Yeah, see, four days, I mean, we have seen test matches finishing in far lesser time.
18:33And with Kohli around and Williamson around, I mean, there could be some
18:42smart moves, some, I mean, I won't say bold declaration. I mean, no team will be
18:48as bold in these conditions. But there are possibilities that definitely unless again,
18:53you end up losing a substantial chunk of play tomorrow, then we will be in a better position
18:59to comment on this. But we have got four active days, play days left, and where they are going
19:06to compensate for those. In fact, today, that was the idea that both the post lunch session,
19:15and the last session, they were looking at 15 overs each extra. So which didn't work out in the
19:21end before. But one thing I wanted to ask both Shyam and Anish is that,
19:27you see, when play started, then I believe they had the floodlights on. So what was stopping them?
19:33So if lights were the only issue, your outfield is dry, it hasn't rained during the day.
19:40So what was stopping them? I mean, are you aware of the technicalities as to when the lights can
19:46come on? Or they're not allowed when the twilight is there? What is it?
19:51I can answer this, Gautam. You see, lights were put in in the day, in the daytime when the lights
19:58were on. Lights can be put on anytime. It's not about twilight. But how much is it, there is a
20:04light meter which reads that beyond this, you cannot continue the match as it is dangerous.
20:09Because you can still see a white ball, but the red ball is not that easy to sight. So in the
20:13interest of the players, you are not supposed to continue the game if the light is dangerous.
20:19And even if the floodlights are on, like you play the ODI cricket or the T20 cricket,
20:25in the lights, you cannot play the test cricket because it is played with red ball and it is not
20:30difficult to sight. That's the reason they had to call off whenever it used to go about that
20:34particular light meter. I am not sure about the exact number. But I have even heard somebody
20:40saying it's not for the spectators. The spectators like you and me want the game to continue why the
20:44match has been called off. But yes, this is not for the spectators. It's for the player's safety
20:49that they had to take the players off. I think you're absolutely right there. That is the thing.
20:55Because sighting a white ball and a red ball under floodlights is two different things. So that is
21:00the only reason. Because they wouldn't want players to get injured. You see, even in traditional
21:06test matches, let's say even in floodlights, if the match had to be extended, they would
21:12look, if the spinners are bowling, they would continue to extend the matches. But the moment
21:17a fair-paced bowler comes on, the umpires call off the match. In fact, Virat Kohli was egging. He wanted
21:22to play today. But the way he wanted to… He was batting. He said, no, I want to come. But that was wise
21:27decision taken. India did not come on to bat. Gautam was saying something. No, no. I mean, he's
21:34such an animated character that the moment they were walking out, the first guy who'd come out
21:40of the balcony is him. Did you think he's ready to go? No, you can't take him away from
21:47that. He is very much in your face. So we can't deny that. Yes, coming back to the
21:56question of whether there will be a test match. I agree with Gautam because there is enough
22:01time in this test match to get a result. But I would go as far as take my neck out and say,
22:08there you will see collapses on both sides. Which means, we might even have a
22:14result even within the fifth day. That means, you don't need a sixth day.
22:20You might have a result by the fifth day itself. Do you agree with me or disagree with me, Anish?
22:27Not really, Shyam. You see, we've already crossed two days. Unless the wickets fall in heaps,
22:32which can happen in these conditions where you go on to nick every ball like what happened to
22:37India in Adelaide. Because a lot of times, players get beaten and you don't edge it.
22:42But the forecast, as I said, for the first half tomorrow doesn't look to be good.
22:46But then it is clear on Sunday. And then similarly on Monday and Tuesday, we have clear skies.
22:55And also Tuesday will be. So, we are going to have four more days of game, which is Sunday,
23:00Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Am I right? Because today was the first day.
23:05Today is day two. They call it day two.
23:07But total six days are there in this test match.
23:10Yeah, six days. Correct.
23:11We are talking about Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. The match is going to be carried
23:15on till Wednesday if required. If as you said, the match doesn't get over. I feel it will go
23:21into the last day.
23:23The sixth day.
23:24Yes. Because of the forecast.
23:28Yeah. Which means you are expecting some more time to be lost due to the bad weather.
23:35For tomorrow, I don't see the match unless, as they say, that the weather forecast changes in
23:39England with time. It's showing very bad till lunch.
23:43Oh. Well, that doesn't look good, actually.
23:47Yeah.
23:48And also, these frequent interruptions are not great because I was listening to this guy saying,
23:54Tim Southey actually came back when he came for the second spell. He seemed to be getting his
24:00length and line right. But then there was an interruption. They had to go off.
24:05So, when you come back again to get back into the rhythm is a problem. So, it affects bowlers
24:12and the batsmen also. See, the thing is, you get into a zone there. And when you have to break
24:19off and come back, you have to take fresh guard. And it's almost like starting all over. So,
24:23these frequent interruptions don't help both the bowlers and the batsmen.
24:28Very true.
24:28Which is a shame, really.
24:34Before we wind up, any thoughts for tomorrow other than the weather?
24:38Well, to be very honest, 270-280 on this wicket, India would probably have the edge. At the moment,
24:46they've got almost half the runs. And as long as Virat Kohli is there,
24:50you need to back India to get that score. Okay. I know we have Rishabh Pant. But we need to see
24:56how he's going to bat in this condition. He's going to throw his bat around. Only time will
25:00let us know. And whether Jadeja and Ashwin can counter this swinging condition. Now,
25:05one is playing in India, one is playing in Australia. It's a different thing. But playing
25:09in this moving ball, as I said, is not going to be easy. But India are up for it. And at the
25:14moment, I believe India is 60-40 in the game.
25:18Gautam?
25:20Yeah, I tend to agree with Anisbhai. India won 60% of the psychological battle here.
25:27That there had been no disaster as we had been kind of… We were little…
25:35Gautam, we lost you.
25:42No issues.
25:43Sure. When they come out to bat, it's once again, you know, like they're going to start
25:49from scratch. And the captain and the vice captain, they are really aware of that.
25:55I think it is more important that Kohli and Rahane bat for a longer period so that
26:03we get somewhere close to what Anis said, around 270. If you need to reach there,
26:07these two guys need to bat. And I completely agree with the fact that
26:11after this, even Rishabh Pant, for that matter, we don't know how he's going to play against
26:14the moving ball. So it's imperative that Kohli and Rahane need to stretch there
26:21their partnership for quite some time.
26:30If India has to harbor any thoughts of winning.
26:33Right. So I think we can look at Virat to continue from here onwards. I mean,
26:39he's got… He's very clear in his mind about what he wants to do. I mean, when he… We will
26:45see those fluent tower drives once in a while, definitely. But apart from that, he will play
26:50that busy innings based on his singles and twos. So interesting days ahead of us, Shyam,
26:59provided weather doesn't interfere again.
27:03Anis Bhai, anything more to add before we wind up?
27:07No, but just to wind up, it's been a cracker of a test match. People say it was a boring day,
27:13two runs for over. But the purest form of cricket, as this Ravi Shastri said,
27:19is the daddy of all World Cup finals. And you can't afford to take your eyes off it. If you
27:23love test cricket, there's no other better game, as much as the Euro football is going around the
27:29world. There's a Copa Cup going on. But mind you, test cricket is the purest form. And you can't
27:34take your eyes off it.
27:37I completely agree there. Because today we saw test cricket at its finest. I mean,
27:43searching examinations of batsman's technique, ball swinging away, coming back into the batsman,
27:49negating the swing by stepping out or playing forward or countering the swing beautifully.
27:56So we saw a superb duel between the bat and the ball today. In fact,
28:02test cricket at its finest. And hopefully we can get some more of the match tomorrow.
28:08If the weather stays good, I think we should be able to get a decent day's play tomorrow.
28:12And let's hope that we'll get a decent play tomorrow.
28:16Thank you very much, everyone, for staying with us. And please log on to gulfnews.com
28:21for latest updates. So also the Facebook and our Instagram channels as well.
28:25Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
28:27Thank you, guys. Good night.