India flaunted their superabundance of talent in a display of absolute dominance to storm into the final of the T20 World Cup with a 68-run shellacking of England in their semi-final here on Thursday.

Leading the charge once again was their inspirational skipper Rohit Sharma, who laid the foundation with an aggressive 57 off 39 balls, and the captain was well-supported by Suryakumar Yadav (47 off 36), as India posted 171 for seven after being asked to bat first in the rain-hit match.

In reply, England were bowled out for 103 in 16.4 overs as India set up a title clash with first-timers South Africa in Barbados on Saturday. This is India’s third entry into the final of the tournament.

Hardik Pandya chipped in with a 13-ball 23, striking two sixes at a crucial juncture to prop up India.

On a slow, holding pitch with low bounce, left-arm Axar Patel (3/23) helped India tightened their grip on the match with his brilliant bowling, while his slow-bowling colleague Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) caused the damage in the middle overs.

The Indian team thus exacted revenge for the crushing 10-wicket loss it endured against the defending champions in the 2022 semifinal of the mega-event at the Adelaide Oval.

In the process, Rohit became the first Indian captain to lead the country in three ICC global finals in a space of 12 months — 2023 World Test Championship, 2023 ODI World Cup and now the T20 World Cup.

Considering India’s all-round bowling attack and nature of the surface, Rohit’s men were expected to defend the total and they did that rather comfortably.

His decision to use Axar in the powerplay proved to be a masterstroke as the left-arm spinner struck twice in quick succession, from which England could not recover.

Wrist spinner Kuldeep also played his part to perfection on a pitch that suited the spinners all through the competition.

Jos Buttler (23 off 15), Harry Brook (25 off 19) and Jofra Archer (21 off 15) were the only England batters to reach double figures, summing up India’s dominance in the game. Both Buttler and Brook fell while attempting the reverse sweep against Axar and Kuldeep respectively.

“We adapted to the conditions really well. It was a challenge and we adapted. We played the conditions really well,” Rohit said after the match.

India, who are yet to lose a game in the tournament, will be hoping that their star batter Virat Kohli finds run in the all-important title clash. Kohli (9 off 9) perished early once again on Thursday, trying to force the pace.

The keenly awaited fixture was impacted by intermittent rain with the start of play being delayed by one hour and 15 minutes. Another long halt came when India were 65 for two in eight overs.

As many as 250 additional minutes were allotted to the game but there was no reserve day.

Soon after Kohli and Rohit came out to bat after England put the opposition in, it became clear the surface was on the slower side and low bounce made the task trickier for the batters.

While Kohli fell early, Rohit adapted to the conditions much better and decided to play the ball late and behind the stumps. One example of that was the guide over backward point off Archer in the second over when the ball went through Phil Salt’s hands to reach the boundary. Setting the benchmark for other batters, Rohit then collected back-to-back fours in Topley’s third over before applying pressure on England’s premier spinner Adil Rashid after India reached 46 for two in the powerplay.

Rishabh Pant (4) was the second batter to be dismissed as he mistimed a flick to be caught at midwicket off Sam Curran.

Then came the engrossing match-up between Rohit and Rashid where the Indian captain employed the reverse and conventional sweep to collect two fours from the leg-spinner’s opening over.

Suryakumar was batting on 13 alongside Rohit when rain returned at the Providence Stadium, forcing the game to be paused for more than an hour.

The weather played spoilsport two balls after Suryakumar got inside the line to pick Jordan over fine leg for a maximum.

England used the leg-spin of Rashid and Liam Livingstone from both ends after the forced break but they could not stifle Rohit and Suryakumar.

A full toss from Rashid was duly dispatched over short fine leg for four, the first of many boundaries that India accumulated in the middle overs.

The 13th over from Curran yielded 19 runs for India with Suryakumar smashing a couple of sixes and Rohit played a pick-up shot for a maximum that also brought up his second successive fifty.

The entertaining 73-run ended when Rohit was beaten by a googly from Rashid while attempting a slog.

Following Curran’s bumper 13th over, the next fours were quiet for India before Hardik Pandya (23 off 13) hit two flat sixes on either side of the pitch to push the innings forward.

Ravindra Jadeja (17 not out off 9), sent ahead of Shivam Dube, got two crucial fours off Archer in the penultimate over while the latter’s stay lasted only one ball.

Axar’s six off Jordan in the final over took India past 170. The team scored 53 runs in the last five overs.

Brief scores

India 171 for 7 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 57, Suryakumar Yadav 47, Hardik Pandya 23, Chris Jordan 3/37, Adil Rashid 1/25, Jofra Archer 1/33, Reece Topley 1/25, Sam Curran 1/25) England 103 in 16.4 overs (Axar Patel 3/23, Kuldeep Yadav 3/19, Jasprit Bumrah 2/12).

R. Ashwin celebrates after taking the wicket of England batsman Zak Crawley on the third day of the final Test match at HPCA Ground in Dharamshala on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

The predictable happened swiftly. Under two sessions on the third day of the fifth Test here, India completed the demolition job of the surprisingly-willing Englishmen for a 4-1 series triumph.

After an embarrassing loss in the first Test, despite taking a 190-run lead, India turned the script around to win the next four. But none of India’s triumphs was as dominating as the one on Saturday, the margin being an innings and 64 runs.

For the record, India resumed its first innings and folded at 477 after losing overnight not outs, Man-of-the-Match Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah for the additional of four runs.

INFOGRAPHIC | R. Ashwin’s journey to 100 Tests, 500 wickets

Trailing by 259 runs, England was never in the hunt to save an innings loss. It lost five wickets before lunch and the rest in the second session to be cleaned up for just 195.

On a day when 41-year-old James Anderson, in his 187th Test, became the first fast bowler to take 700 Test wickets, R. Ashwin picked up five wickets to tally nine for 128 in his 100th Test.

Inexplicable was England’s rush to defeat. Beginning its second innings in the seventh session of a Test, the haste of the visiting batters to play the big shots was baffling. Hit firmly between the ears by the Indian spinners in the first innings, England showed that it had not learnt any lesson. The false bravado only hastened the end and left England in very poor light in the shortest of the five Tests.

When England batted again, Ashwin started from where he left off after taking the last four first-innings wickets. He sent back the top three batters before lunch as England reeled at 103 for five.

Ashwin bowled Ben Duckett, Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes by foxing each one differently. Duckett stepped out, got himself ‘yorked’ as the ball turned just enough to beat his heave and crashed into the off-stump.

Following a change of ends, Ashwin dismissed Stokes. Guilty of playing from the crease, falling to Bumrah and the turning ball in the series, he played forward defensively but was beaten and bowled. After lunch, Foakes paid the price for his attempted slog-sweep and gave the off-spinner a 36th five-wicket haul.

Jonny Bairstow, also playing his 100th Test, smashed three sixes and two of his three boundaries off Ashwin before being dismissed by Kuldeep.

Joe Root stood amid the ruins to post his 61st Test half-century during the ninth-wicket stand with Shoaib Bashir. He displayed the approach England needed to stay alive to fight another day. He was last out for 84, holing out to Bumrah off Kuldeep, the man who started the procession of England’s wickets in the first innings.

Scoreboard

England 1st Innings: 218 all out

India 1st Innings: 477 all out

England 2nd Innings: Zak Crawley c Sarfaraz Khan b Ashwin 0 Ben Duckett b Ashwin 2 Ollie Pope c Yashasvi Jaiswal b Ashwin 19 Joe Root c Bumrah b Kuldeep Yadav 84 Jonny Bairstow lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 39 Ben Stokes b Ashwin 2 Ben Foakes b Ashwin 8 Tom Hartley lbw b Bumrah 20 Mark Wood lbw b Bumrah 0 Shoaib Bashir b Jadeja 13 James Anderson not out 0 Extras: (B-6, LB-1, NB-1) 8

Total: (All out in 48.1 overs) 195

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-21, 3-36, 4-92, 5-103, 6-113, 7-141, 8-141, 9-189, 10-195

India bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 10-2-38-2, Ravichandran Ashwin 14-0-77-5, Ravindra Jadeja 9-1-25-1, Kuldeep Yadav 14.1-0-40-2, Mohammed Siraj 1-0-8-0.

England bowler James Anderson after completing 700 wickets on the third day of the final test match at HPCA Ground in Dharamshala on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

With the snow-capped Dhauladhar mountain ranges providing a stunning backdrop here, James Anderson, 41, scaled ‘Mount 700’ to permanently etch his name among the greats of the game.

Precisely 15 minutes into the third day’s play on Saturday, the dismissal of Kuldeep Yadav signalled the end of Anderson’s wait. The ball kissed the outside edge of Kuldeep’s bat and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes completed the dismissal. This was the moment of the day for Anderson, England and their supporters.

On his debut against Zimbabwe in May 2003, Anderson began his wicket-tally by bowling Mark Vermeulen at Lord’s and gradually became the most reliable new-ball weapon in the English armoury.

Third to reach the mark

Playing his 187th Test, Anderson became only the third bowler — following spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) — to take 700 Test wickets.

Since surpassing Australian Glenn McGrath’s career-tally of 563 wickets when he dismissed Mohammad Shami at The Oval in September 2018, Anderson remains the highest Test wicket-taker among fast bowlers.

The main reason for Anderson’s longevity in Tests is his decision to stay focused on red-ball cricket.

He played the last of his 194 ODIs against Afghanistan in March 2015 and finished with 269 wickets.

In fact, his T20 career lasted just 19 matches for 18 wickets and ended in 2009. In Test cricket, Anderson has three 10-wicket match-hauls and 32 five-wicket performances.

These numbers could change since Anderson is not done yet.

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, both scored centuries on the second day of the final Test match at HPCA Ground in Dharamshala on March 8, 2024
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Relentless India punished England all day and left it staring at another defeat after just two days of the fifth and final Test here.

Notwithstanding the late flurry of wickets, Friday saw India score 338 runs to reach 473 for eight and lead by 255 runs.

Overnight batters Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma converted their half-centuries into centuries, something that debutant Devdutt Padikkal and Sarfaraz Khan could not.

A wicketless first session saw Rohit and Gill score 129 runs to put India 46 runs ahead of England’s 218. They reached their centuries in the space of three deliveries.

Gill was more aggressive of the two in reaching his fourth Test century after Rohit posted his 14th — sixth since 2021 — and maintained the solidity seen on the previous evening.

The second session — that produced 112 runs — proved more eventful.

Skipper Ben Stokes, whose last Test wicket came on June 28, 2023, chose to bowl after seven Tests since then. He opened the second over after lunch and bowled Rohit off his first delivery. The ball beat a rather casual Rohit to find the off-stump, much to the joy of Stokes’ team-mates even as the skipper remained expressionless.

Like it happens so often, the end of a long partnership — of 171 runs in this case — the partners departed in quick succession.

Gill, after hitting two boundaries of James Anderson in the first over after lunch, fell in the following over from the 41-year-old for the sixth time. The reverse-swing in the 63rd over foxed Gill and took the off-stump for a walk.

Two wickets in eight deliveries for England brought Sarfaraz and Padikkal together. A fortuitous edge past the lone slip saw the Karnataka left-hander get his first Test runs. He rode his luck to play some glorious strokes on both sides of the pitch. Soon Sarfaraz settled down and dominated the 97-run stand with some free-flowing shots in the hour before tea to reach a 55-ball 51, his third Test half-century.

Much like the post-lunch session, the post-tea play witnessed England taste early success. Sarfaraz departed by offering Joe Root, the lone slip, a low catch. Padikkal, who reached his 50 with a six off Bashir, went on to hit a couple of boundaries off Hartley before being bowled by the former.

If England lost three wickets at 175, India lost three in the space of one run. Bashir lured Dhruv Jurel to hole out to Ben Duckett at long-on for his fourth wicket. In the next over, Hartley ended Ravindra Jadeja’s struggle and sent back R. Ashwin for a duck in his 100th Test.

With India eight down at 428 and 18 overs remaining for stumps, the possibility of England getting to bat appeared bright. But Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah frustrated England with their unbroken 45-run stand.

R. Ashwin speaks to the Indian side ahead of his 100th Test Match on the first day of the 5th Test against England at Dharamshala on March 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

“Test cricket is the closest synergy that you can find to life.” Ravichandran Ashwin’s voice trembled with emotion and pride during the gratitude-speech after receiving his special 100th Test cap from India head coach Rahul Dravid here on Thursday.

But Ashwin did not restrict that landmark moment, which came during the fifth and final Test against England, to himself but he championed the cause of Test cricket amidst money-spinning T20 leagues.

“IPL has been a hugely popular tournament; a lot of kids want to play T20 and get into the IPL. I really do wish that they get there. But remember one thing, this format (Test)… it is in a lot of things that life wouldn’t teach you,” Ashwin said.

“I think Test cricket is what life is. It is the closest synergy that you can find to life. It will teach you to adapt, dealing with pressures.”

The 37-year-old Ashwin, who made his Test debut in 2011, also paid handsome tribute to his father — Ravichandran — for believing in him and supporting his journey.

“It’s quite an emotional moment. Not just not just for me. I’m not one who would be shaken by emotions a lot. But today is a hugely emotional moment for a man who is sitting back in Chennai. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it here,” Ashwin began before making a quick recollection of early days.

“The first day (as a kid cricketer), I still remember it very clearly, I would put my kit in front of the petrol tank, and then he would put me on the bike and take me to the coaching camp.

“A government employee (his dad) wanted to take his son all the way miles ahead in life, somewhere he imagined I would ever get. He got me here because of the help of my mom and, of course, my granddad,” he added.

His wife Preeti has been a big pillar of support for him in periods of struggles.

“My wife didn’t know what she was getting into. She’s gotten into it and she’s standing next to me today. I have got two lovely kids who are also enjoying my journey over the last few years,” Ashwin said.

After handing Ashwin the cap, Dravid said it was a well-deserved moment for the Tamil Nadu cricketer.

“You have given everything faithfully to the team and today is your 100th Test. It was a journey that started from the streets of Chennai. It’s been a long and eventful journey. It wouldn’t have been possible without your family. Congratulations to them as well.

“This is a well-deserved moment. It’s been a privilege speaking with you. It’s been a privilege to work with you as a coach. And of course, it’s a privilege to hand this cap to you,” Dravid said amidst applause from Ashwin’s teammates, who gave him a guard of honour while entering the field.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin prepares to bowl during the 3rd Test between India and England at Rajkot, Gujarat
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

There is something magical about the figure ‘100’ in cricket. In Dharamshala this week, R. Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow play their one hundredth Test match, while in Christchurch it is the turn of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee to do so, each accompanied by loyal colleagues, supportive families, enthralled media and figure-hugging statisticians.

When Colin Cowdrey became the first to the mark in 1968, it had taken him 14 years. There was little fanfare. He was cheered to the crease by the Edgbaston crowd, later played with an injury and with Geoff Boycott as his runner, remaining unbeaten on 95 at the end of the day’s play.

“Cowdrey, in spite of a hampering injury, played one of the most accomplished and felicitous innings of his career…,” wrote John Arlott.

INFOGRAPHICS | Where Ashwin stands among the bowling pantheon

“It is not easy to play 100 Test matches,” Rahul Dravid, who has played 164, once said. “Test cricket is not easy. To be able to play one is great, to be able to play 100 is a fantastic achievement.”

A player with 100 Tests behind him has an impressive CV when it comes to being selected for an all-time team to represent his country. Would Ashwin find a place in an all-time India team?

Such selections cannot be based on figures alone, although Ashwin would walk in as India’s most successful off-spinner. They are not based on averages either (although Ashwin has the best among Indian spinners with over 100 wickets) or strike rates (ditto). There is also the conviction that contemporary bowlers have more tricks up their sleeve than those of an earlier vintage, thus giving them an advantage. After all, contemporary engineers know more than those of the 19th century, and most undergraduates in philosophy are better trained than Plato was.

By definition, therefore, Ashwin brings to his craft a wider range, a greater understanding (thanks to analytics) and even the necessary experimentation than, for example, Billy Bates, the 19th century offie who was the first Englishman to take a Test hat-trick and one of few to claim 14 wickets in a Test. Knowledge is one thing, and modern bowlers are being constantly fed the data, but the skill to act on the knowledge is another matter. That requires both something inherent and cricket intelligence, both nature and nurture. Ashwin has this by the bucketful.

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Joe Root put his finger on ‘Ashwinness’ recently in a podcast saying Ashwin always tries to take wickets, not merely wear down the batter. This positive approach is special in the age of the T20.

It does not, of course, follow that a later generation automatically has the better players. This is no case for asserting that Bairstow is superior to Len Hutton because he came later and can play the reverse-sweep! Each is capable of doing something the other cannot. But Bairstow has more access to information, has played more formats and is likely to borrow from one to succeed in another.

Among the finest Indian off-spinners, from Ghulam Ahmed to Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkatraghavan to Harbhajan Singh, Prasanna had this combination of cricket intelligence and natural skill. Roughly half his 189 wickets were claimed abroad; Ashwin has played only 40 of his 99 Tests abroad as India often played only one spinner in those matches. Ravindra Jadeja bats left-handed and is a brilliant fielder and was thus preferred.

Ashwin, who has played all 59 home Tests since making his debut, has missed 24 away Tests.

In many ways, Ashwin stands alone. He is constantly experimenting, constantly pushing himself, and always fighting two battles every time he steps onto the field.

The first, to achieve victory for his team, and the second to push the limits of his craft. Others have bowled a version of his carrom ball flicked off the middle finger, but few have been as keen on surprising himself and discovering greater depths. Only Muthiah Muralitharan has claimed 500 wickets in fewer Test than Ashwin.

All this talk of statistics is a bit off-key; it is as if Ashwin does not exist beyond his numbers, as if his achievements have to be constantly buttressed by figures, with his away record making everybody uncomfortable.

The fact is, Ashwin ought to be a certainty in an all-time India squad. Let us applaud a modern master of the craft.

File picture of India’s Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep during net practice. The pair were instrumental in India’s win over England in the 4th Test at Ranchi
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

One is a war veteran’s son who threatened to run away from home if his father didn’t buy him a kit and allow him to play cricket; another, in effect, did run away and started out in another city. A third sold pani puri off a cart, a fourth spoke delicately about how “things weren’t financially strong at home.” They are, respectively, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sarfaraz Khan who played key roles in India’s victory against England.

There’s more. Aged five, Jurel had an accident that required plastic surgery. A decade later, his mother had to sell off her gold ornament to get him a kit bag. Deep lost his father and a brother in a span of six months and left home because he “didn’t have anything to lose.”

What is sport without stories of valour and spirit, heroism and gallantry? What is a turning pitch or a wrong leg before decision when compared to the days and months of despondency guided by nothing more than hope and a belief in ultimate redemption? What are the odds of finally making it in a country of over a billion people? How many Jaiswals and Jurels have fallen by the wayside because they lacked the guidance or the single-mindedness of these two, and their ability to hold on to their dreams?

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There are too stories of the kindness of relatives and coaches, and of the good fortune of having talent spotted and worked on by those willing to back their judgement. Above all, there is the discipline, the hard work and unwillingness to give up by the Generation Next of Indian cricket.

Elements fitting together

So many elements have to fit together snugly like Lego pieces, before success, inevitable and consistent, is achieved. Some little thing going wrong somewhere at an early stage can have a disastrous final effect. When things work out, it is nothing short of a miracle; the butterfly effect can ruin dreams.

Not so long ago our best players came from the cities and traditional centres: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai. For a little over a generation now, they have emerged from the old backwaters. This continues. Jurel is from Agra, Jaiswal was born in Bhadohi, UP, Akash Deep in Sasaram in Bihar, where, he says, “playing cricket was a crime.”

In recent years, cricketers have emerged from Roorkee (Rishabh Pant), Unnao (Kuldeep Yadav), Chinnampatti (T. Natarajan), Kakarkhund (Mukesh Kumar). Economic migration has seen the sons of brick kiln workers, auto drivers, taxi drivers, weavers and craftsmen change the family fortunes. If English cricket is identified with Bazball, a style of play and a philosophy, Indian cricket today is best represented by Jaisball, after the poster boy of the new generation.

Reminiscent of Tendulkar

Jaiswal’s two double centuries, his compact defence and his confidence is reminiscent of the young Sachin Tendulkar. Jurel’s ability to read a match situation and change gears has something of Virat Kohli about it. When the future existed in the past, there is comfort in the continuity.

Shubhman Gill, already a captain-in-waiting, batted himself out of a slump, with a vital half-century in the chase. Like a comedian who makes you cry in a serious role or vice versa, Gill played against his grain to see India through. The number three slot seems to be his for the foreseeable future.

If the successful transfer of T20 techniques into Test cricket has shown one thing, it is that sometimes a big heart is more important than a perfect forward defence. It is easy to pick holes in the techniques of some of the young batters; old timers will cavil at the manner in which the front leg is sometimes moved away from the line of the ball rather than towards it, but it has worked. The short-pitched ball might be an issue, but here too the heart can triumph over the head.

There are two tests that Indian players have to pass before they can be accepted into the company of the best. The first, and easier one is their record at home. Then there is the record in countries represented by the acronym SANE: South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England, on pitches where pace, bounce, swing and seam rule.

India tour Australia at the end of the year, and some reputations will be consolidated then. But whatever happens, the initial hurdle-clearing will always remain an inspiration.