While the English focus before the third Test was on Ben Stokes winning his 100th cap – the various greatest hits compilations serving as a drum beat to this pivotal match – the bunting also came out on the Indian side of the divide.
The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium was officially renamed after Niranjan Shah, a prominent local and national administrator. And at the VVIP event to mark this, Jay Shah announced Rohit Sharma will lead India at this year’s T20 World Cup. He even promised the trophy would be theirs, telling his audience: “Hum Bharat ka jhanda gadenge” (We will hoist India’s flag).
This coronation was slightly curious to the outsider, Shah being secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, not head selector, and Sharma having already resumed the role last month. Perhaps it was designed as a public pick-me-up. After all, the heartache from last year’s World Cup final was among the various speculative diagnoses as to why Sharma had been a dormant volcano thus far.
Either way, that volcano finally blew its stack on day one in Rajkot as Sharma went from dormant to dominating. Over the course of five hours, and after an alarming start at the other end, India’s all-format captain hammered out Test century No 11 with 131 from 196 balls. Allied with an unbeaten 110 from Ravindra Jadeja, and an eye-catching 62 from Safaraz Khan on debut, it saw hosts reach an ominous 326 for five at stumps.
The late surge from Sarfaraz, a barrel-chested right-hander with a bulging first-class average of 69.85, will have been celebrated on the maidans of Mumbai. His father and coach, Naushad, was in tears when the cap came out first thing and more must have followed after tea. Emerging at 237 for four in the 64th over once Sharma had departed, Sarfaraz ransacked nine fours and one six in a veritable see-ball-hit-ball whirlwind.
All of which was overshadowing Jadeja’s diligence, the all-rounder having played the anchor role in a 204-run fourth-wicket stand with Sharma that changed the complexion of the day. That was until, one short of his century and crawling, with his home crowd waiting for the latest sword-twirling celebration, Jadeja called – and then thought better of – the single that got Sarfaraz gallingly run out.
Mark Wood was the man to bullseye the stumps, one final reward on a day of graft from England’s speed demon that ended with three wickets in his personal column. Among them was Sharma, rushed on the pull, although India’s captain was angrier about Sarfaraz being barbecued by Jadeja. Throwing his cap to the floor, the language here was not hard to translate.
Still, a commanding day was built on his and Jadeja’s experience coming to the fore. The last time India played a Test series without one of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar in their XI was 1989 and 45 minutes into this match, three rookies had departed. Pujara, netting out the back with his Saurashtra teammates ahead of a Ranji Trophy fixture, is too gentle a character to have smiled though.
England were certainly beaming, disappointment at losing the toss offset by early moisture in the pitch that helped reduce India to 33 for three in the ninth over. As was the case in Hyderabad on day one, this saw the hard ball nip for the seamers and grip for the spinners, not least when a delivery from Tom Hartley stuck in the tacky surface and Rajat Patidar could only chip a soft catch to cover.
But it was chiefly exploited by Wood bursting out of the traps on his return. Jimmy Anderson’s 25th new ball-partner vapourised both of last week’s centurions, Yashasvi Jaiswal edging to slip when one zipped off the seam, before a skittish nine-ball duck from Shubman Gill was ended by one nipped the other way. When Wood then clonked Sharma’s grille with a fearsome bouncer, India appeared to be seeing stars.
A masterstroke followed from their corner, however. Jadeja pushed up to No 5 – a spot where he had averaged 11 in six previous attempts – and was soon pouring Indian cement into the holes alongside Sharma. That said, the latter did experience a couple of near misses in the 20s. Joe Root failed to snatch a sharp low catch to his left at slip off the bowling of Hartley – this would have made it 47 for four – and the immaculate Anderson saw an lbw overturned by a feathered inside edge.
Thereafter, as the ball went soft and the pitch dried, it was a case of England waiting for the error - not that Stokes likes to wait. But after reaching 93 for three at lunch, Sharma and Jadeja were wise to the England captain’s various schemes, not least when the ball began to reverse for Anderson in a probing four over spell.
Egos were put to one side, Sharma preferring to wait for the all-too regular loose stuff from the spinners. His shot to get into the 90s, a wristy helicopter whip off Rehan Ahmed, was a treat for the eyes, while the statisticians were purring late in the piece when he pumped the leg-spinner over the rope to surpass MS Dhoni’s record 211 sixes as India’s all-format captain.
Advantage India, then. Although given the nature of this series and an England side that keeps coming, it is too soon to promise that their flag will be hoisted by the end.
