Hyderabad:Â It looks like Team England is on a revenge mode. One Test down, bogging down to injuries and player conduct issues, it hurt them when the Indians had the last laugh. But, the way they have come into the third Test, it looks like they are the men on a mission. On a pitch that retained a bit of the greens, it sort of looked absurd when England, after having won the toss, elected to bat first. But then, since the time the batsmen took guard, they seemed to take immense pleasure in frustrating the Indian bowlers, reversing the roles and enjoying themselves to bits.
Alastair Cook clicked and how! At the receiving end of a lot of brickbats for his underperformance and weird strategies, this was the one last opportunity for him to redeem himself and save himself from the wrath of the critics, who were baying for his blood, calling out for his retirement. he played and played so well, that England clearly took hold of the driver’s seat at stumps on Day 1.
Day 2, so far, hasn’t panned out much for the Indians, who tasted only two successes. The Indian bowlers were badly butchered and it was now the turn of the Indians to face the music. Day 2 saw only the fall of one home wicket. Cook missed his ton by a whisker, done in by Jadeja on 95. Gary Ballance slamming a ton, duly supported by Ian Bell. England look very strong right now, and the Indian bowling seems to be struggling on a pitch that seems to have eased out for the home-boys.
With almost half of the Indian frontline bowlers failing to strike till now, Dhoni will quickly have to unleash Plan B if he wants to get into the damage control mode. Get the rest of the wickets quickly, get into bat and switch to some slam-bang version on fast-forward.
With this match expected to head towards a draw, England would try their level best to give it their golden shot. This being a crucial match, a lot hangs in the ‘Ballance’.