This is turning out to be quite a riveting series with epic proportions between India and England (not to forget, with both Australia and NZ also following every bit of action with added interest).
If the opening Test belonged to the toss and Joe Root, the second one belonged to the toss, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin.
Suffice to say that the upcoming pink-ball Test will be another mouth-watering affair, with both teams vying to take the ascendancy. If India manage to win this, they will need to only only ensure that they do not lose the next match, to make it to the WTC Finals. So, a win or at least a draw, will be high on their wishlist from this match.
On the other hand, England have to win both this match as well as the next one. If not, they will have to quietly say bye-bye to their hopes of qualifying for the Finals. A draw from here will make Australia happy, who will then get to bypass both India and England, to meet New Zealand in the Finals.
All said and done, the pitch will be crucial, but so will the performances too. Any Test side has to perform in every condition, not least one which aspires to be a WTC finalist. And there is enough talk of home advantage - why not? Why can we not have pitches that turn and help spinners from Day One? For all the critics of such tactics, how often have you heard the same people complaining about seaming, bouncy pitches that jag the ball in and around your chin/chest from the first over of the day?
It's all fine as long as nothing is substandard. And substandard it has not been. If you needed any further confirmation, I have a few names for you: Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin - centurions from the same match, same pitch. Even Ben Foakes, in the English First Innings, showed how one can apply oneself to play and score on such a pitch.
So let's leave the excuses and wailing to disgruntled and frustrated Vaughans, Waughs and other such cry-babies. Time to spend some time in Gujarat now, get your dhoklas and fafdaas ready, let's get to the action in the middle soon, and let's look forward to another round of top quality cricket from two wonderful sides.
All the best, India - Jai Ho!
