It was nearing lunch of Day One at MA Chidambaram stadium by the time me and my friend reached there. We were late as we were coming after work in night shift. The score card was reading England - 68/2 as we entered the arena through Gate 5 in Victoria Hostel Road. A partnership was under construction by Joe Root and Moeen Ali with the bat and Ash and Jaddu with the ball.
Joe Root, like always was at his fluent best with his drives, cuts, sweeps. Though there were some odd pokes outside off here and there against Umesh as the ball was reversing, he never looked like he was at sea against the spin trio. Amit Mishra was scarcely used in the first half of the day and Root was driving and sweeping the other two with ease. There was no audacity, rush or power. It was pure romance between the bat and the ball.
With Root scoring at a brisk rate, Kohli had no choice but to have an in-out field. This made life easier for the batsmen as Moeen got settled, happily playing the second fiddle to the star at the other end. Root was facing the spinners with huge forward stride and pushing it to point and taking singles. As a result of which, Kohli in the 36th over removed short mid wicket fielder and placed him at point. As if expecting this to happen, Root swept Jadeja in front of mid wicket for a boundary to bring up his half century.
As England was marching towards tea without losing any wicket in the second session, the sweep shot which was his prime weapon against the spinners became too much for Root. Having ruled Not Out by the on field umpire, Kohli reviewed the decision to overturn it with the snickometer showing small bottom edge to the keeper. Root missed out on a well deserved century. But it was pure romance for a cricket fan until it lasted.
It almost looked like the game plan for England as Moeen stood at one end and the others were taking the attack to the bowlers. Bairstow came in as Root got out and right from the start he was showing positive intent and sending both Ashwin and Jadeja over the fence. As he was nearing his half century it got too much for him as Jaddu was accurate and he wasn't able to rotate. He went for a booming cover drive but a tad early. He chipped it to extra cover and was livid with himself for throwing it away.
Moeen Ali on the other end was playing patient test match cricket. Though there were some lofted shots down the track to the spinners, he was happy rotating the strike and putting the odd bad ball away. By the fag end of the day, he got to his century and it was a batting masterclass from him.
He was playing the spinners with the spin. May be he was helped by the nature of the pitch as the bounce was true despite all the storm and rain. And there was consistent turn for the spinners of the pitch which is why he was able to leave alone a lot of balls from Jadeja and Ashwin.
As the day's play got over, we were able to see Virat with changed clothing being padded up and going to the practice pitches with Sanjay Bangar, followed by K L Rahul and Anil Kumble. Hope it was one off day for R Ashwin as he will be keen to make this match a memorable one for his home crowd.
Now coming to the crowd, there were a reasonable amount of crowd for the start of a test match on a week day. Chennai crowd was never known to be vocal. There were occasional "ooooohhh"s and "ahhhhh"s as Moeen left a few balls from Jadeja and Ashwin beat them with the turn. And huge eruption every time a wicket fell or a review was taken. But what stood out was that every time England team or any English player reached a land mark, the entire stadium was standing up and applauding the effort. There was huge eruption in the stands for a minute as Root and Bairstow got out. But as they walked off, the entire stadium stood up and applauded.
Having been deprived of international matches in the recent past for some reason or the other, Chennai fans were keen to come to their own Chepauk to see their national stars and more importantly to enjoy the sport. Chepauk crowd showed why players love playing here and why we have the reputation of being called " The Knowledgable Crowd". With the next two days being holidays, I am pretty sure that there is going to be a lot more of noise and applause at the Chepauk.
It was my first ever international match at the ground as a spectator. I am sure there is a lot to follow in future. But at this moment I am keenly looking forward to see how this match turns out as it will always remain as my debut test match.
Joe Root, like always was at his fluent best with his drives, cuts, sweeps. Though there were some odd pokes outside off here and there against Umesh as the ball was reversing, he never looked like he was at sea against the spin trio. Amit Mishra was scarcely used in the first half of the day and Root was driving and sweeping the other two with ease. There was no audacity, rush or power. It was pure romance between the bat and the ball.
With Root scoring at a brisk rate, Kohli had no choice but to have an in-out field. This made life easier for the batsmen as Moeen got settled, happily playing the second fiddle to the star at the other end. Root was facing the spinners with huge forward stride and pushing it to point and taking singles. As a result of which, Kohli in the 36th over removed short mid wicket fielder and placed him at point. As if expecting this to happen, Root swept Jadeja in front of mid wicket for a boundary to bring up his half century.
As England was marching towards tea without losing any wicket in the second session, the sweep shot which was his prime weapon against the spinners became too much for Root. Having ruled Not Out by the on field umpire, Kohli reviewed the decision to overturn it with the snickometer showing small bottom edge to the keeper. Root missed out on a well deserved century. But it was pure romance for a cricket fan until it lasted.
It almost looked like the game plan for England as Moeen stood at one end and the others were taking the attack to the bowlers. Bairstow came in as Root got out and right from the start he was showing positive intent and sending both Ashwin and Jadeja over the fence. As he was nearing his half century it got too much for him as Jaddu was accurate and he wasn't able to rotate. He went for a booming cover drive but a tad early. He chipped it to extra cover and was livid with himself for throwing it away.
Moeen Ali on the other end was playing patient test match cricket. Though there were some lofted shots down the track to the spinners, he was happy rotating the strike and putting the odd bad ball away. By the fag end of the day, he got to his century and it was a batting masterclass from him.
He was playing the spinners with the spin. May be he was helped by the nature of the pitch as the bounce was true despite all the storm and rain. And there was consistent turn for the spinners of the pitch which is why he was able to leave alone a lot of balls from Jadeja and Ashwin.
As the day's play got over, we were able to see Virat with changed clothing being padded up and going to the practice pitches with Sanjay Bangar, followed by K L Rahul and Anil Kumble. Hope it was one off day for R Ashwin as he will be keen to make this match a memorable one for his home crowd.
Now coming to the crowd, there were a reasonable amount of crowd for the start of a test match on a week day. Chennai crowd was never known to be vocal. There were occasional "ooooohhh"s and "ahhhhh"s as Moeen left a few balls from Jadeja and Ashwin beat them with the turn. And huge eruption every time a wicket fell or a review was taken. But what stood out was that every time England team or any English player reached a land mark, the entire stadium was standing up and applauding the effort. There was huge eruption in the stands for a minute as Root and Bairstow got out. But as they walked off, the entire stadium stood up and applauded.
Having been deprived of international matches in the recent past for some reason or the other, Chennai fans were keen to come to their own Chepauk to see their national stars and more importantly to enjoy the sport. Chepauk crowd showed why players love playing here and why we have the reputation of being called " The Knowledgable Crowd". With the next two days being holidays, I am pretty sure that there is going to be a lot more of noise and applause at the Chepauk.
It was my first ever international match at the ground as a spectator. I am sure there is a lot to follow in future. But at this moment I am keenly looking forward to see how this match turns out as it will always remain as my debut test match.
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