India, four years ago, knocked out England on one of those magical days in Test cricket at the stadium of Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad. The test quickly became a landmark in cricket history while igniting global debate on pitch preparation.
The epic game had itself characterized by a dramatic collapse of a great number of wickets over the second day of the Test. The sheer volume of wickets that fell drew widespread criticism as every cricket fan and pundit questioned the very essence of Test cricket. This installment of India ended with a victory of 10 wickets. Axar Patel was named Player of the Match with his 6/38 and 5/32 in both innings.
The event took place during the third Test of the England’s Tour of India in 2021. The toss always went in favor of the Joe Root led side who batted first.
On Day 1 of the fixture, the Englishmen were shown the way back to their pavilion for mere 112 runs. The batting order of the visiting squad had no answers for the unrelenting spin attack of Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin. India faced a similar experience on the very first day of the Test, with Rohit Sharma leading the host side’s innings by scoring an early half-century. The play ended at 99/3 at India’s end when it was time for the day’s close.
This day, on this very morning, snapped both sides unprepared for the very tough conditions of batting the pitch presented. India was 145 all out after declaring. By tea, England was already in their second innings.
It was true that Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel hung onto the pitch’s fickle nature to contain the England batters. They converted pitch conditions into a well-deserved havoc. After losing its top-order early, Joe Root created a brief partnership with Ben Stokes.
They had a bright future ahead of them, but alas, they were soon dismantled rapidly. Axar and Ashwin accounted for nine wickets as England got shot out for 81.
With a target of 49 runs in front of them, India seemed well on its way to victory in this match , and the hosts did not disappoint . Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill built an unbroken partnership to achieve an easy victory on Day 2.
Fans and critics alike have been surprised at how quickly this match ended. Here, while Ahmedabad pushed India to the brink of a series victory, it also left an odd aftertaste.
Cries were also raised about the future of the format with diminishing day-night Tests. Ahmedabad serves the current acting reminder of the erratic nature of the sport and the typical power of spin in subcontinent conditions.
