The Hindu : Sport : Team India looks to finish the Test series in style at The Oval

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Team India looks to finish the Test series in style at The Oval

S. Ram Mahesh

‘Strip will offer little by way of movement off the seam, but plenty of bounce’

London: The Oval, traditionally, hosts the final Test match of an English series. This former market garden, England’s burgher ground — the common man’s theatre, as it’s sometimes disparagingly referred to has been the venue of some of cricket’s most significant moments.

The first-ever Test on English soil was played here in 1880. The Ashes legend began here in 1882; Gilbert Jessop, Neville Cardus’s favourite batsman, thrilled the public in 1902, reportedly producing strokes of outrageous power from a curious crouching stance.

Sir Donald Bradman made both a double-hundred (1930) and his poignant farewell duck (1948) here, with the recognisable grid-iron gasholder in the backdrop. B.S. Chandrasekhar, a phenomenon if ever there was one, took six for 38 here in 1971, setting up India’s first series win in England.

Rahul Dravid’s Indian side has the opportunity to enrol in the list (had it been Lord’s, the side might have fancied being engraved in legend, but here at The Oval, enrolling is the done thing). With the rain-enabled draw at Lord’s and the glorious, hard-fought win at Trent Bridge, the series is India’s to win.

Thus far, the cricket has been both excellent and entertaining. Two ideal cricket wickets — having cut and carry, and wearing naturally — have greatly helped. A wet, miserable summer might have chilled the bone, but it has provided for swing. The bowlers, consequently, have been given more than hope and prayer: runs have been fought for, not taken. First innings have been shortened, freeing up space for results.

Battle of skill

Ugly incidents have sprouted like poisonous toadstools in dark crevices, but, largely, the cricket has been a battle of skill. This battle promises to continue to The Oval; only, the parameters are set to change. The contest has been between late swing and even later front-foot play, but, England, after the success of Chris Tremlett on the final day at Trent Bridge, has decided to invest in bounce.

Back-of-a-length lift against back-foot play might be the new battle. Contrary to intuition, swing bowlers don’t despair when they see a bouncy track. If they can harness swing, the bounce helps them in two ways: the batsmen, less inclined to play forward, are more likely to edge the full, swinging ball; and these edges carry.

At any rate, conventional swing of the same degree as the first two Tests isn’t expected at The Oval (though in keeping with cricket’s uncertainties, both Tuesday and Wednesday turned from dry, sunny mornings to overcast, drizzly evenings). The strip has been heavy-rolled evenly after soaking in water — groundsman Bill Gordon says it will offer little by way of movement off the seam, but plenty of bounce.

Patchy outfield

By Wednesday afternoon, the strip was livid, leached of its moisture. Might it turn later? No one can say for certain, but the ground looks perfect for reverse swing. The outfield, unlike Lord’s and Trent Bridge, is patchy as a mangy dog. Besides, four practice strips have been cut to the right of the centre wicket — looking at it from under the oyster-shaped roof at the Vauxhall End — and two others have been opened on the left: plenty of area for the ball to get roughed up.

But, the cricketing gods withdraw even as they give: bounce may be had, but the hard, concrete track is an unforgiving landing spot for the bowlers.

The toll it will take on the ankles, knees, groins, and backs will make long spells heroic but pyrrhic.

England has only two centuries so far – Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan — but, Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and V.V.S. Laxman have outscored their counterparts in the number of half-centuries.

Rahul Dravid is due a big one — when he last batted in a Test match here, he made a ten-hour double hundred.

His chances of joining Ajit Wadekar and Kapil Dev as the only captains to have won Test series in England hinge on two sets of adaptation: the batsmen must remember that tracks of bounce, like the WACA in Perth, are tough to settle on, but, once adjusted, terrific to score quickly on; the bowlers must find other ways of getting wickets if swing isn’t substantial.

In seven Tests here since 2000, the side batting first has won four times; of the five captains electing to bat, only one has lost. Both captains will likely follow precedent: it’s an important toss to win.

The teams (from):

India: Rahul Dravid (capt.), Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, R.P. Singh, Ranadeb Bose, Ishant Sharma, an d Ramesh Powar.

England: Michael Vaughan (capt.), Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior (wk), Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Chris Tremlett.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Ian Howell. Third umpire: Peter Hartley. Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle.

Hours of play (IST): 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., 6.10 p.m. to 8.10 p.m., and 8.30 p.m. till close.

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