Kanpur experience infuses new life into Test cricket

Certain things in sports never fades away from memory. Like what happened in Kanpur in the second cricket Test between the visiting Bangladesh team and India.  As they say cricket is a sport of unpredictability and this Test stands out as one that fits this saying to the hilt! Imagine a contest where rain and rain-affected conditions ensured no play was possible over two days and yet at the end of it all not only did action begin but what is more, a result too was possible!  India forced a seven-wicket win for a 2-0 series win and, in the process made sure it was well placed in the race for reaching the summit round in the ICC Test championship.

Unbelievable things that happened in Kanpur’s Green Park stadium.  A venue where back in 1969 the great G.R. Vishwanath made his debut for India and made himself famous with a century, had begun to lose ground as one of the best cricketing facilities after the rains that intervened in the Test match. Critics had begun to raise voices on the facilities or lack of them here as much time was  lost through wet conditions. Bangladesh was not even halfway through in its opening innings and two days and more had been spent. Things then began to happen in the remaining two days! Where in the earlier days such a Test would have been dismissed as another that was destined to end on a dull and drab note, things proved different. New age, new thinking, all because cricket had evolved from one that stood out for its quality of exhibiting resilience to one where instant results became a reality. The one-day or the limited over variety had changed cricket-thinking remarkably.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma guided by the new coach Gautam Gambhir did just that, brought a whiff of freshness that blew away the dark clouds of uncertainty and ushered in all the excitement that cricket fans and experts had been praying for! A few decades ago Test cricket was all about, for instance, polished batting, the elegance of a cover drive or a square cut, something radio commentators would go gaga in describing! Fans would still recall the famous name Ananda Rao whose delivery of words always was a hit, pouring out…. “ a classic drive that sends the ball racing to the fence hugging mother earth all the way!”  Similarly about other actions on the field, say bowling or fielding. If those were unforgettable days, particularly for the old-timers then what has been happening in the sport now is excitement at a different level. That this could come about in a Test was what has opened a new approach to this five-day contest or so it seemed!

This is where one needs to laud all the changes that have come about in cricket. The coming of the limited over contest, particularly the shortest version, the T20 has truly brought out a new breed of batsmen who believed in attack as the best weapon for achieving goals. No matter the risk involved, at the end of the day what is remembered is the bravado!  These are days where more players are attuned to this format than the long hours contest like Test matches.  Perhaps this was what made the players and the management think of going all out despite the short time in hand. Kanpur fans could not have asked for anything more. Back they were in large numbers when the settings earlier had virtually driven them away. For the Indian team to think of a winning strategy was one thing but to put it into practice was quite another matter. But then this Indian squad had in recent times achieved several feats that had been beyond the reach of other teams. That confidence and drive came to the fore as history was made on the same venue, which days earlier had come up under the scanner for lack of facilities!

Just recall that jaw-dropping sequel of events.  After restricting Bangladesh to 233, India raced away to 285 for four declared in just 34.4 overs, at the rate of 8.22 runs per over, something till then was unheard of in Test cricket!  The moment skipper Rohit Sharma hoisted two sixes in the first two balls he faced when India began its reply, the settings were clear and the confirmation came from the pyrotechnics that followed. Fastest 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 and India had rewritten a series of new records in Test cricket history!  Test cricket had suddenly transformed into a T20 contest and Indians are experts at this. The proof was soon to follow!

Still it needed some courage to execute this strategy for at stake was the chances ahead in the ICC Test championship. On both the earlier occasions India had to be content with the runner-up spot. So the eagerness to beat nature’s intervention and also make up for time lost came in handy to achieve what seemed the unthinkable. Fortune favours the brave and that is what the Indian team proved when they completed the task with several overs to spare on the final afternoon. There was no need for a rush job but a few clean hitting and the goal had been achieved to script a golden chapter in the history of Indian cricket.

Already up there in top position in the ICC rankings in T20 and ODI and second to Australia in Test cricket, India should be well on the way to correcting that. What has to be considered encouraging is the depth of cricket talent in the country, with every other day a new name springing out for national recognition. Indeed, Indian cricket is poised for even more sparkling moments in the days ahead.