'Bazball' hits a roadblock: How England's aggression was nullified by India's skill and experience

DHARAMSHALA: Have you been entertained? That, above all, is what should matter as the curtain draws on a rare five-game series between two important flag-bearers of modern Test cricket.

The question is relevant because lately, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's England have taken it upon themselves to inject zing into the game's oldest format. For over two years now, they have been self-appointed torch-bearers of the Test flame, seeking to keep the red-ball format enjoyable by thinking, and playing, out of the box.


The notion has been to beguile and captivate with a bold approach, to twist and sometimes even mangle Test cricket's templates in an attempt to reorient crowds back to cricket's oldest, toughest, most tactically demanding format.

They have often succeeded, sometimes even sacrificing victory by giving opponents a sniff - like in the Ashes - just to keep matters interesting. In this thrill-a-minute age of abbreviated attention spans, England under Stokes have reminded us of the infinite pleasures of watching a game unfold over days.


It is a noble cause, except there were two problems, both of which have been highlighted on this India tour. The first is that in sport, there is a thin line between the bold and the fancy. The second is that the five-day game is a traditional format, and tradition thrives in citadels. There is no one way to outfox the lion in its den. And there is no one way to play Test cricket.

England ran into an Indian team equally boastful of its credentials and fiercely proud of its home record. They refused to be lured into thinking differently and stuck to what has worked best.


India now have a pace attack to rival the world's best but what works best on home soil is the turning ball. In the wizardly Ravichandran Ashwin, the disciplined Ravindra Jadeja and the wondrous Kuldeep Yadav, India knew they had the weapons to nullify England's power hitters. Having anticipated, correctly, that England's batters wouldn't be shy of giving the charge, India now needed a sleight of hand of their own.

England had high hopes from their rookie spin attack because they were expecting to run into the usual rank turners, where the gulf in skill sets would have been reduced. Instead, India dished out slow turners where experience and expertise came into play.

Pitch preparation, however, is a difficult art, and the one place where it did not work was in the first Test in Hyderabad, where England won. The venue where England succumbed the quickest, within three days in Dharamshala, remained good for batting till the end.

Spin was only part of the intricate web England encountered. They had a bevy of batsmen who had brought into the 'Bazball' ethos and stuck to it even when the world was crumbling around them. Often their approach seemed suicidal, but the lack of trust in their defensive game meant they were handcuffed to the cause. The only one capable of adapting was Joe Root, but then he is a giant of batting.

It is still true that visiting teams need both a proven batting lineup in these conditions and some experienced spinners. The scorecard reads 4-1 in India's favour but England competed well at various stages, but perhaps they were looking only to punch above their weight.

India's batsmen too played positively, but in contrast were better at changing tack when required. England's feeble bowling lineup aided their cause. A look at the middle-order contributions of both teams is revealing.

From Nos. 3-6, India averaged 39.35 across these five Tests, contributing three centuries and eight fifties. England averaged 29.79, and contributed two centuries and two fifties, outperforming India only in Hyderabad and Ranchi.

In Rajkot, England's middle order averaged 15.87 to India's 52.14, and in Vizag 23.5 to India's 38.37. In Dharamshala, England's middle averaged a poor 26.25 to India's 61.5, but then they had lost the series by that point.

Hampered by the absence of some batting stalwarts at various stages, India needed their remaining experienced hands to both stand up and be counted and inspire the youngsters.

Jasprit Bumrah did that in Vizag after the fast-rising Yashasvi Jaiswal's stunning double century. Captain Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja came up with a match-winning stand in Rajkot after the team had been reduced to 33/3 in the first innings.


Rohit did it again in Dharamshala, even as Shubman Gill grew in stature at No. 3. And Ashwin did the expected with such regularity, it was easy to forget we were in the midst of genius.

Kuldeep, meanwhile, was a revelation. India's choice of debutants too delivered at various stages, becoming the sub-plot of a fascinating series.

"It's a tough game, cricket, and it can eat you up," Stokes summed up. "There's been two styles of play from both teams. One thing India have done is stay true to what makes them successful. We've (also) done that but not been able to execute as we'd like. Sometimes taking risks brings your downfall, but when there's reasons behind those risks, it's fine. Failure is a great teacher to sports teams."

"The heartening thing for me was how well our experienced players stepped up in those (difficult) situations. England came here with an experienced batting lineup. Their inexperience was in bowling. Our experience was in bowling and we won those contests," India's head coach Rahul Dravid said. "Our experience and nous in those moments triumphed over their experience and that was a critical part of the series."


You don't just turn your back on the traditional. England's batters will go back having learnt the folly of discarding attritional play - those long, boring hours where the bowler holds court and batting is about survival and soaking in the pressure.

Stokes, meanwhile, has lost six of his last 10 Tests as captain, while Rohit Sharma now has a winnability of 62.5% as captain.

This series began with the usual doubts about India's commitment to Tests and ended with the announcement of handsome rewards for playing the format. England are not the only team keeping the five-day flag flying. And if you have been entertained, Tests remain as relevant as ever.