Vimal Kumar

Senior Journalist, The Oval Grounds, London

After the huge disappointment on the first day, Team India made a great comeback on the second day and then as a great Test team they kept up the fighting spirit and consistency to come back on the third day as well.

The two batsmen who got the India team back into the match on the third day were the ones returning to Test cricket after one and a half and two years. Probably no one would have thought to see them both playing Test again.

Naturally, we are talking about Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who grew up almost together in the Mumbai cricket nursery.

Coincidentally, the captain of this team is also a player from Mumbai, who in addition to winning the Test against Australia in Ahmedabad had said that there would only be one change to the England tour and that would be the return of Shardul Thakur.

Rahane would not have gotten the ticket to England if another Mumbai batsman, Shreyas Iyer, had not been out of form.

This saying is very old and popular that ‘luck helps only those who help themselves’.

Ajinkya Rahane, whose career was considered over after 82 Tests like Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha, when Rahane was selected for the IPL Chennai Super Kings, at that time many fans felt that Mahendra Singh Dhoni was just playing cricket. , ‘Jinx’ has been included in the bus team.

See the irony that the same Dhoni advice and confidence showed a glimpse of a 23-year-old Rahane at the age of 33, the same Indian Dhoni captain who publicly expressed his opinion on Rahane’s strike rate.

Shubman Gill scored the most runs in IPL this year, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal also made headlines but the way Rahane batted, you would hardly see an example of him in all 16 IPL seasons.

This has happened for the first time in cricket history that a fast-paced batsman in IPL has made a tackle in Test cricket with the same ease.

Before lunch on the third day of the Oval Test, Rahane’s batting displayed the same brilliance, the same aggressiveness, the same composure, the same confidence and the same brilliance seen in the IPL for two months.

Missing out on a century for 11 runs, Rahane is called the problem solver of Indian cricket. Once again, Rahane proved that his presence can be felt even in the presence of superstars like Rohit and Kohli.

Rahane got the full support of Shardul Thakur. Questions may be raised about this Mumbai player’s technique, but where will his combination of courage and temper come from?

When Thakur arrived at the press conference after the end of the day’s game, he was asked about his game and Rahane’s hitting. His response was: “All this was not new to Rahane.”

Even for Thakur, scoring a valuable century in difficult conditions is nothing new.

By the end of the game on the third day, the India team also took four wickets from the Australian top order and again the hopes of a return to this Test have started to grow.

Can India beat Australia within 50-60 runs before lunch on Day 4 to look for a win?

The above statistics will tell you that while pursuing a goal of over 300 runs, the Indian team lost 46 times, managed to draw 32 times and won 3 times. In 1986, he tied the Madras Test against Australia.

The record of teams chasing bull’s-eye at the Oval is even worse.

121 years ago hosts England scored 263 runs to win and in this century, no team has won a game scoring more than 200 at the Oval.

But it should not be forgotten that Test cricket at The Oval has traditionally been held in the months of August to September on pitches that facilitate spin. In the first week of June, Test cricket is organized at the Oval for the first time.

By the way, the England team has also given this confidence to other teams by chasing over 270 runs on 4 occasions last year, now chasing the 4th innings target is not that difficult. Last year during the Edgbaston Test against India England scored 378 runs at the loss of just 3 wickets.

Those who argue may even say that the India team broke “Gaba pride” by scoring 328 runs in Brisbane. But, there was Rishabh Pant in that team while Shrikar Bharat was there in this team. If he can’t win, he can get the result a draw.

With this result, the trophy will be shared. Although India has surpassed England in this matter. In 1979, the India team saved the match by batting 150.5 overs, which is an unbreakable record.

Last time in 2007 when India team won Test series in England, at that time also India team had batted 110 overs at the oval for the draw result. But, given the plethora of career players in the India team, the difficult prospect of a win looks easier than the outcome of a draw.

Now don’t think it’s hard to do. Because every time the games against Australia are difficult, the Indian team manages to do something extraordinary.

Only on the fourth day of the Oval Test will it be known whether the match will go on till the last day or not and if it goes on, will it be possible for the India team to win or not?