India are firmly in control of proceedings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai at the end of Day 4 of the fourth Test against England with the hosts just six wickets away from a series-clinching victory.
Skipper Virat Kohli notched up his highest individual first-class score as well as the highest ever by an Indian captain in Test cricket while youngster Jayant Yadav brought up his debut Test ton breaking a number of records along the way.
Also read: Who Said What: World reacts to Virat Kohli's record-breaking double century
England debutant Keaton Jennings was brought down to earth with his century knock in the first innings followed by a golden duck in the second while Ravindra Jadeja struck twice before tea to firmly hand the advantage to the hosts. Jonny Bairstow, however, stood firm and is especially keen to remind everyone that he is on par with Kohli.
With Team India holding the upper hand going into the final day of play on Monday, let’s take a look at the five major talking points that created headlines on the fourth day of the Mumbai Test.
#1 Virat Kohli saved the best for last
To say that the year 2016 belonged to Kohli would be an understatement. The Indian Test skipper has literally owned the opposition bowlers all year round all over the world. He started off with his heroics in the T20 format, especially the World T20, followed by the IPL but as the year progressed, we have witnessed Kohli’s transformation from a good Test player to a truly outstanding one.
India have only played three Test series this year and the very fact that Kohli has scored a double century in all three of them is a testimony to Kohli’s growing stature in the longest format of the game. While the knock in West Indies brought up his first ever first-class double century, Kohli became the first Indian skipper to bring up two double centuries in Test cricket with his knock against New Zealand in the third Test at Indore.
The third double ton, which he completed earlier today against England, has, however, been the best and most important one out of the lot. With England scoring 400 in the first innings, the hosts were in a spot of bother at the end of day 3 despite Murali Vijay’s brilliant century with the main motive being not to concede a first innings lead.
However, Kohli, with good support from Yadav at the other end, not only made sure that India had a sizeable lead in hand but also deflated any hopes the England side might have had to launch a fightback in the series.
Kohli’s knock of 235 was the highest by an Indian skipper in Tests but considering the rich vein of form he has been in 2016, it would not be a big surprise if he rewrites the history books once again during the final Test in Chennai.
#2 India has unearthed a true all-rounder in Jayant Yadav
Jayant Yadav has undoubtedly been the find of the series with the 26-year-old proving that he is the perfect understudy to Ravichandran Ashwin in the truest sense. Not only is he potent with the ball like his senior colleague, he also the necessary batting technique to be counted upon as a reliable batting option lower down the order.
Having brought up his first half-century in Tests during the Vizag Test, Yadav went one better this time around to bring up a memorable century that helped his skipper Virat Kohli, batting at the other end, and India build a sizeable first-innings lead against England.
Tougher conditions await Yadav in the future no doubt, but by bringing up the highest score by an Indian batting at the No 9 spot in Test cricket, Yadav has ensured that he gets taken seriously with the bat next time he comes out with the pads on and most probably he will see himself batting higher up the order in the near future.
#3 England’s lack of quality spinners
Not to say that Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are bad bowlers, but to have them as the side’s leading spinners speaks volumes about the problems England have faced in getting an able replacement for Graeme Swann. Complaining about the nature of pitches in the Indian subcontinent holds no relevance when the spinners in your side are simply not good enough to exploit the same helpful conditions that the Indian spinners are plundering at will.
Backing your players is all well and good, but to have Rashid and Ali as the team’s leading spinners sounds more like a miscalculation about their qualities rather than a risk being taken going wrong.
The series might well be lost the same time tomorrow and Alastair Cook and the England team management will need to seriously reassess how they go about their approach in the Indian subcontinent in the future because it has been simply too easy for the Indian batsmen, not just today, but throughout the series.
#4 India’s DRS woes continue
All the talk about the BCCI finally agreeing to use the DRS for the England series has proved to be of little use for Team India with skipper Virat Kohli still clueless about how to put the helpful resource to good effect. More often that not, the referrals have been wasted and such was the case on Day 4 of the Mumbai Test as well.
During the 13th over of England’s second innings bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin, Joe Root was subject to what the hosts thought was a bat-pad caught decision with wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel diving forward to catch the ball. Referring the decision upstairs, however, proved to be a futile one with replays clearly indicating that the bat was some distance away when the ball hit the pad before lobbing up.
Root was once again the subject second time around as well as Virat Kohli reluctantly agreed to his teammates’ request to go upstairs when a Jayant Yadav delivery struck the Englishman on the pads. Replays, however, clearly showed that the ball would go over the stumps and so India had lost both their reviews less than 40 overs into the second innings.
India should take a cue from England on how to use the DRS as Root simply walked off when he was given lbw against Yadav on 77 thus allowing Jonny Bairstow to use the review in hand when he was given out caught behind off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling off a no-ball.
#5 Joe Root continues love affair with India
Virat Kohli’s outstanding run in 2016 has rightly jolted him to the top in comparison with the likes of Kane Williamson, Steven Smith and Joe Root, but the England No 3 is in no mood to go down without a fight and he proved it once again with his brilliant knock of 77 in England’s second innings on Day 4.
With the knock, Root ensured that he has at least one 50+ knock in each of the 10 Tests he has played against India so far – a truly remarkable feat. So much was the hosts’ desperation to get rid of him that they lost both their reviews within 40 overs of their second innings. Luckily for Team India, a Jayant Yadav quicker delivery left Root surprised and had him plumb in front of the wickets to give India a major boost in their bid to secure victory and thereby the series.
Kohli has had a brilliant 2016 no doubt but so has Root and it has been a case of simply being too good that has the Indian skipper stealing the headlines ahead of someone like Root who has also had many memorable moments during the past year or so.
