Second Test: On turning Chennai pitch, Kohli and Ashwin show there is more than one way to thrive

England started day three of the second Test against India with a slim possibility of avoiding defeat. The hosts had a lead of 249 runs when play began, with nine wickets remaining in their second innings. The pitch wasn’t getting easier to bat on and considering Joe Root and Co’s total of 134 in their first innings, India seemed on course for a resounding win.

But the first hour or so of day three led to an unexpected shift in momentum. Riding on some phenomenal glovework by wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, England dismissed five Indian batsmen for 51 runs to reduce the hosts to 106/6. Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane and Axar Patel had joined Shubman Gill in the hut and all of a sudden, England had a sniff.

The visitors were still a long way behind in the contest, trailing by 301 runs at that time, but with just four more wickets to get, they would’ve believed they had an outside chance if they could get themselves a target inside 350.

However, that’s when skipper Virat Kohli got together with Ashwin Ravichandran and what followed was a partnership that snuffed out any sliver of hope England might have had. The duo put on 96 runs for the seventh wicket and by the time they were separated, India’s lead had swelled to 397 and they still had three wickets left with a well-set Ashwin at the crease. England had been all but batted out of the contest.

India vs England, second Test, day three: As it happened

Kohli’s grit

In the first innings of the match, India’s captain suffered a dismissal he wouldn’t want to remember. Moeen Ali had tossed the delivery into the rough outside off and the right-hander simply threw his hands at it to leave a big gap and get bowled. That dismissal seemed reckless, and that is not a word one associates with Kohli’s batting.

So, in India’s second innings, the 32-year-old set out to make things right. With his top-order batsmen coming and going in a procession, he decided to lock in and tighten his defence. He didn’t score a single run off the first 19 deliveries he faced and even after he got off the mark, he showed tremendous restraint while picking run-scoring options.

The highlight of Kohli’s knock was how he cut out the cover-drive – a shot that he plays as well as any but which also every now and then leads to his dismissal, as it did on Saturday. It was only off the 93rd delivery he faced that he attempted a hard cover-drive. The ball was pitched on a similar spot to the one that got him in the first innings but this time he got on top of it with a big stride and used his bottom hand to send it along the ground.

Kohli missed out on a century again as he was dismissed for 62 off 149 but his innings on Monday, along with the high-class 72 he got in India’s second innings of the first Test, was yet another reminder of his will to succeed. Throw a challenge at him and watch him respond.

Ashwin walks the talk

While Kohli’s gritty knock was out of the top drawer, India had Ashwin to thank for gaining back the momentum.

After the second day’s play, Ashwin had spoken about what it takes to succeed as a batsman on a turning track, which in this case has received criticism from several quarters for being below standards.

“Time and again there are conditions that will challenge, be it spin or seam,” he had said. “… when you come up against spin, you have to give it to the bowler, bide your time, and then probably cash in a little later. It is another form of art. As simple as that.”

While Ashwin did indeed walk the talk and showcase plenty of art as he notched-up his fifth Test century, his approach was in stark contrast to Kohli’s. With India in a slump having lost quick wickets in the opening session, the all-rounder chose to counterpunch and looked for runs from the get-go.

The second ball he faced was swept for four and the fifth was a reverse sweep that beat short-third and raced away to the fence. A few overs later, the third and fourth boundaries he picked up were also thanks to the sweep shot. Ashwin had come to the crease with a clear mind and was backing his instincts. But the point worth noting here is that this was a plan he had prepared well in advance.

“Even after the last Test, we spoke about how we are going to counter Jack Leach and probably bring the sweep shot into the game,” he said after stumps on day three, adding how it was a shot that he had kept out of his game for a long time.

Ashwin’s positive intent was a constant right through his innings. He kept a close eye on the good deliveries but didn’t miss out on scoring opportunities. Even after India lost Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav and Ishant Sharma, Ashwin had the belief to get the boundaries and complete a memorable century in front of his home crowd, with help from Mohammed Siraj.

There’s a lot that’s been said about how difficult this pitch is to bat on but Kohli and Ashwin, with their contrasting styles, showed that there is more than one way to score runs on this surface. Their partnership helped India get to 286 in their second innings and set England an improbable target of 482.

England will head into day four at 53/3 and with a mountain to climb. There’s hardly any hope left for them but if they want inspiration for how to survive on this pitch, they needn’t look further than the batting clinic provided by Kohli and Ashwin. They showed not just how to survive, but even thrive.