Headingley Day 1: India dance on England's toes
Ravi Shastri’s footwork while conducting interviews is astonishing. Today at close of play he stood on the outfield towering over Jaiswal and Ward in a power stance that would have made Inigo Montoya quiver. His left foot pointed fearsomely out towards the camera as he mock chastised the young Indian centurion for his precocious aggression. Jaiswal wasn’t entirely sure the accusation was light-hearted and launched into a defence considerably stronger than had been required against England’s bowlers.
Every so often Shastri would move his exquisitely cobbled shoes back next to each other but after a second or two he would impulsively resume his alpha uncle posture, his left peg jousting out again. There is simply too much testosterone pulsating through Shastri for him to ever be on the back foot.
Shubman Gill is also a big man with a proud stride, used to effect the various delicious cover drives throughout his own noble ton. Today he was given the invitation to bat by Stokes, but you have to wonder if the England captain would have made the same decision had Bethell been chosen at three instead of Pope. Not that Stokes today was looking to protect Pope. England don’t do protection, but they are very much into showcasing. Had Bethell played instead of Pope perhaps, after all the selection debate, his captain might have wanted to give the youngster the chance to set the tone of the Test and series.
Instead that honour went to and was exploited by Jaiswal, Gill and Pant. To deliveries back of a length, Gill’s head remains as still as night while he waits for the ball to have the decency to arrive right under his nose. On the attack to those shorter his pulling was minimalism incarnate, bar one uncontrolled top edge that nevertheless sailed over the noted altitude of Shoaib Bashir’s release point down at deep square. Gill is all pirouette and tap on the shot. Pant, by contrast, plays the pull like he’s trying to recreate Guernica, a melee of limbs and frenzy. Somehow the timing remains exquisite, his masseur’s hands reaching out of the tornado to glide balls to whichever obscure area he fancies.
India may not have the spittle and spunk of Kohli anymore, but if these are to be the conditions on offer in England then today suggested they will be more than capable of allowing their opponents’ attack to do the punching until the point of exhaustion. Indeed, after the challenging pitches in their 3-0 home loss to New Zealand and the sheer intensity of the series and Australia’s attack in their defeat down under, Headingley’s welcoming day one track and England’s refusal to let the stumps join in the game would have been quite the respite. And they will relish the fact that England have the chutzpah (albeit not without historical precedence) to believe, metaphorically at least, they can get on the front foot to Bumrah under this unusual and rather subcontinental Leeds sun in the fourth innings.