It was yet another innings win at home, seems fairly routine now. What makes it special is that it happened to be a day/night test and the conditions were "seamer friendly". Gone are the days when one would associate India to be good enough on rank turners only. Their fast bowling group has risen to such heights that no one will have thought of this in their wildest of dreams about 5 years ago. And all that is when they don't have their best bowler(and one of the best in the world), Jasprit Bumrah in the lineup.
Two of India's frontline fast bowlers, Shami and Ishant have peaked around the same time. Such is the situation that the bowlers who were supposed to win them matches at home, Jadeja and Ashwin, are nowhere in talks, and that is a fantastic sign for India. Ishant almost picked up a 10 wicket haul, Umesh Yadav picked up 5 in the second innings, and Shami was at his daunting best with his vicious bouncers. Some credit, for such meteoric rise of fast bowling in India, must also go to their skipper, Virat. He has been vocal about his desire for ruthless cricket and his love for raw pace. Such is the attitude he has instilled in his fast bowlers, that all the wickets that Indians were able to get in this test, were by fast bowlers only. It had happened earlier as well, only last year against South Africa, under Virat again. But the fact that this time it happened in home conditions speaks volumes of the changing mindsets and culture in Indian cricket.
Not forgetting to mention the batting, it was yet another masterclass from Virat as he became the first Indian to score a century in day/night test, and the way he batted, it seemed he was batting on a different pitch altogether. He was ably supported by Pujara and Rahane, and slowly, these three have formed a formidable middle order for India.
So, with this win, they have further consolidated their position at the top of points table for the WTC, and although the final is to played in 2021, and it may seem a bit cocky, it would be a surprise if India doesn't feature in that final !
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