Test Match Special - '"India well on top" after the first day in Chennai

Episode Date: February 13, 2021

Jonathan Agnew, Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook talk through a day that saw a century for Rohit Sharma and plenty of excitement for the bowlers.

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Hello, I'm Jonathan Agnew. Welcome to the Test Match Special podcast. It's definitely been India's day on the first day of the second test in Chennai. Coming up, we're here from Michael Vaughan, and we'll get Sir Alastair Cook's judgment on a superb sentry from Rohit Sharma. We're here from Jack Leach, as well as Jimmy Anderson on that over from the first test. Close of play of the first. first day of this second test between India and England in Chennai. Well, how do you judge this

score? 300 for six, India, having chosen to bat first on what can only be described as a very poor pitch for test cricket. From the very word go, the ball was going through the surface and turning sharply. India were 86 for three before lunch with Koli out for a duck. He was so bemused by being clean bowled by Mowing that he needed a replay to persuade him to leave. His extraordinary stuff, really. Gill also out. for a duck and Pajara for 21 but then the afternoon was dominated by Rohit Shama who made

161 and Jinka Rahani who made 67 a terrific partnership that and you wonder again the context of the pitch and so on if that potentially has put India into a winning position but an outstanding partnership they both fell within 14 balls of one and a little bit of

controversy regarding both actually the third umpah could have seen both of them off before they were actually dismissed it didn't actually cost too many runs Shama for a stumping chance and Rahani definitely should have been given out caught short leg one run before he was actually

dismissed but a lid was kept on things and although there were a few words between Pant who's on 33 and the close field is towards the end humour was more or less restored throughout I would say so 300 for 6 Axpatelle's on 5 lot out quick look at the bowling or the seamers

didn't do very much want that one wicket for stone at the start when Guild didn't play a shot Mosellebubli he's taking one for 42, but it's the spinners who are doing all the work. Jat Leach, two for 78. Moen Alley, back in the side. We'll talk about that. Two for 112 from 26 overs.

Joe Rich taking a wicket, one for 15. He nipped out Ashwin just before the close. Michael Vaughn is alongside me. It's ever so hard to try and put some sort of context on that score at the end of a first day, isn't it, Michael? Yeah, I think it's big. You know, 300 on the first day on any pitch is a good effort. but when you're seeing balls,

you said from the first session, the balls were hitting the surface and exploding. From what I've seen today, that is playing like a day five wicket already. And I've never seen a pitch flatten out that's taking big chunks out of the surface. I don't see how it's going to flatten out. So India, while on top,

it was a gamble that India have taken in terms of preparing this pitch because, obviously, if they'd have lost the tossing and would have batted on the first day. I think what they wanted to do, India, is bring their bowlers, the equation early just in case they lost the toss. So they could

bowl England out on day one and obviously a lot cheaper than they did in the first test match when they lost the toss. But now they've won the toss and they've got 300 and we've seen the ball do what we've seen do. I mean, it really is a beach. I know there's a beach near to the ground but this is playing like a beach

and England, if they can win this test match from here on this kind of surface, it would be up there with the great victories of England teams going back through the history of test match cricket because this pitch is doing all sorts when you think of Ravi Ashwin

bowling to five left-handers in the England side and you've got Axa Patel, he'll be better than we saw last week from Nadim. You've got Kul Deep Yadav, so they've got three high-quality spin options. I'm not too sure the scene will do that much work on this kind of wicket and the lights of Broad Olly Stone. Yeah, they try

but there was nothing there for them as a bit of reverse swing, but Roit Sharma gave a master class. It's one of those players, Agers, and you've seen all the greats. He makes batting look so simple. And he's got great balance and timing. And I think that will be the innings that we talk about at the end of the

test match that potentially has won in dear the game. But he's score 161. On that surface out of 300. The thing that struck me, Michael, is that A, he never seems to hit the field. I mean, if he gets a bad ball, it's just he just hits for four, doesn't he?

And to have a player like that in the context of this sort of game where every run is so precious, they've got him they've got pantos still there on 33 I mean they are such dangerous batsmen to have in your armour when you've when well you know an hour of those two playing attacking cricket could could change the game

yeah I mean you're right I mean he's a kind of player that when he's playing like he did today you almost feel that he can choose when he wants to hit a boundary he'll play a few kind of dot balls and ones and twos and he goes right it's boundary time I'll I'll decide and he'll play a sweep or a downstown and hit one over the top. It is such a pure player that makes it look very, very simple.

It certainly isn't simple playing at this level, particularly on the pitch that he's played on. But you need your high-quality players and individuals to step up as a team. And he's done that. Joe Root did it for the England team last week, made the massive difference. And I do think Roeitz innings today will be the one that we talk about and go, wait a minute, 161 on day one, on a pitch that did plenty.

It wasn't that it was flat today. It's done all sorts. incredible innings Now what about Virat Koli I mean that was the one real humorous moment of the day Clean bowed by mowing Fifth ball for a duck

And he didn't want to go And then someone flashed a replay up for him To show him on the score On the score Well no matter actually you have been bold By the ground was virtually sending Setting his tractor out to get him off the field

He didn't want to go didn't he I've never seen Someone a dispute being bowled like that For quite so long But B and this replay Popped up to say to him just so you know he didn't review it

did he I mean no one reviewed but they sort of had to show it to get him off the field well for the first time that we've been able to commentate

and talk about the game of cricket with the crowding and I think Virat realized that the 15,000 had paid their ticket price to watch him bat that

and he didn't want to go I mean it was there was some yeah there was some bizarre moments all day I mean the third umpire he's had a stinker I mean you could argue

that Roeat's shot should have been stumped. I mean, that was tight one. You could argue probably both sides. He might have given the benefit there, because he was missing an angle, wasn't he? But it was... It could easily have been given out. But it was the angle from the stumps that he didn't look at for long enough from our perspective.

And then the Rihani caught at short leg for him not to play the tape a bit longer to see what England were wanting him to see, which was the bounce off the pad up, and it does hit the end of the glove. it's unexcusable in this era of sport for him not to have gone to that replay the officials know that he dropped one because they've given England their review back and I don't understand that

there was no announcement yeah and I understand that's great that they've got it back but I don't understand because you could clearly see on the TV screen that Joe Root was saying to the umpire right in the middle it's not the one that's hit the pad it's the next one that we want you to have a look at so he was telling the umpire so surely

the umpire would have said from the middle can you just have a look at the next stage of the replay. For him not to have done that, I mean, you know, Rehani has still been there a hundred not out. I mean,

luckily for England, he was out, you know, pretty much straight away and didn't cost them, but you can't be getting those decisions wrong in this era of the game.

I know Cookie just agrees of it, but I thought he played the shot of a guilty man, actually, because it was a horrible shot that he got out to almost immediately afterwards

as if there was something gnawing away in his mind. Yeah. Maybe Bats went a thing like that. No, they don't, but it was a surprise because he'd not played that shot. Yeah.

And it was the first time he'd had a go at trying to play that stroke and it got him out. So I think he might have had a... He's a good guy, Jinka Rihana. He's a real nice gentleman, so maybe he'd just had a little bit of guilt. First time since 2000, I think, Andy Zaltzman said that England have made four changes to a winning side in the same series. And I just wonder what you thought of those. I mean, I think broad answer somebody understand. Archers, obviously, injured.

Buckley in those, gone home. I suppose the one, the contentious one is best, who's taken 17 wickets in the last three tests. and so it dropped I don't get that unless he's indicated that he's struggling unless he and again we're not

in that dress room we're not savvy to any of the conversations that's going on between Dominic Best Chris Silverwood Joe Root Jitin Patel

the spin bowling coach if he's indicated that he needs a little bit of time out of the fire I kind of get that but I can't think that he would have said that because he was on him either

no he was on this show talking just after the first first inning to the first test then that's the best of ever bowled in test match cricket and I totally agree and he got better

and better he got better from the first test to the second testing goal he got better from the second testing goal

to the first test here in India he had eight overs in the second in his didn't get it right but that was only eight overs England won the test match he batted nicely

he's good in the field he's contributing those four wickets in the first innings great he got Virat Koli when the pitch was playing at its best

and then you go to the next game and he's dropped in England one nil up in the series. I get the bio bubble and I get the movement of players around. I don't necessarily agree with it all, but I get what they're trying to achieve. But dropping Don Best after three games getting 17 wickets. I put it on social media. And runs. I batted well in both innings. He contributes as a team player. He might not bowl the best all the time. But, you know,

as I said, he's great in the field. He's good with the bat. He looks like he's dependable as a person. and nice character I have around the group and I just think I'm going to have tinkered a little bit too much and I would say as a batter

and you'll say exactly what I'm thinking well there you go the dog's going is that is that bumble or it's like the postman's arrived to full house that

sorry about that yeah if a batter had scored 350 runs which is like the equivalent of 17 wickets in three test matches and had a bit of fortune

and been dropped five or six times would the batter have got another test match absolutely So I don't quite get what they're done with Dominic best. I know you're setting your alarm early for tomorrow. And so much, obviously, because that's going to be a fascinating day, isn't it?

Who knows what Pant could do? We know what he's capable of doing. But thank you very much indeed. We'll join you again tomorrow for your thoughts. Right. Before we go and talk to Prakash Wakanka out there in India, Andy Zaltzman, still there in the Stats Central Shed. What struck you today?

I've stole your thunder with the changes. which is just an interesting one, isn't it? So four changes to a winning side the first time since 2000, I think you said. Yes, and that was the only other occasion since 1965 that England had made four changes after a win within the same series. They've never made four changes to a winning side

in an away series in England's entire test history. So, yes, very unusual. The circumstances of cricket, as it currently is, have led to teams changing much more than they have in the past, A few notable stats today, Roet Sharma's 4th, 150 in test cricket, maybe the key contest of the day. He took 59 from 64 balls he faced from Moeen Alley. Moen Alley did bowl out Coley and Rahane, very rare for an offspinant to bowl up. Two right-handers in the first innings of top five right-handers in the first innings of a test-lings

running the third time in the last 20 years that's happened. Coley hadn't been bowled out, had his stumps hit by an office. spin, since Graham Swan in November 2012, and he faced, well, hundreds, I think there's 380 overs of off-spin in that time. And in terms of facing off-spin in the first innings of tests, since 2017 against off-spin in the first inning, the opening innings of a test match, 380 runs out twice in this series, he's out twice for four runs in 18 balls he's face. So that's something England have been doing right. Jack Leach to Pujara. And again, me we talked about in the last test. He got Bajara

in the last test. He got him again today, twice and 18 balls for five runs. In his career before that against left-arm finger spin, Bajara had only been out five times in over 300 overs, and hadn't been out to left-arm finger-spin in 141 overs that he'd

faced of left-arm finger-spin since February 2017. So that's a feather in leeches cap. However, perhaps the key dismissal of the day, Shubman Gill, out for a duck, and he was curious stat, Agas. When an Indian opener has been out for a duck

when they've been batting first in a test match since 1987, they haven't lost a game. So maybe it's tactics. Ten occasions previously, five wins, five draws. And, well, Ashwin is clearly going to be a threat. His stats, we saw him both first in the first test and struggle in that first innings. In home tests, he averages 31 innings one of a test,

21 in innings 2, 21 innings 3 and 17 innings 4 So he looks like he's going to be a huge factor And no extras today we saw an absolutely beautiful display of wicketkeeping from Ben folks Unlucky not to take that stumping in a series of silken takes It's I've looked at the database, Agnes which goes back to 2001 And in the first innings of a test of the 88 overmark where we are now

This is only the second time in 567 innings that no extras have been conceded by the end of the 88th over innings one of a test. And on a pitch like this too, that's quite something. Thanks, Andy, very much indeed. So to Punewa go, and two Prakash were Kankar. Good afternoon, Prakash. Well, what do you make of all that? That's terrific, isn't it?

I love that second last stat about an Indian opener getting a duck and never losing a test match. I thought you might do. Amazing what Andy might come up with, but amazing statistics. Now, to the serious part of the cricket, I think, you know, this toss probably in many, many ways will influence the match. We always knew it would be important. How important, I think, we can all sort of conjecture about given the way we've seen the wicked play. I think it was the third or fourth over of the morning where the first puff of dust came off, isn't it?

So it's going to be a dust ball multiplied by something compared to. to the last test match. Batting's going to get increasingly difficult and England will have to play really, really well, which they may well do if they are to come away on skate. That's the view at the moment with that innings from Rohit Sharma, really outstanding. We talked about this groundsman last week, didn't we? This chap, he's a textile man, isn't he, who's found himself preparing this test pitch. It looks like he's got a bit confused and he's prepared a vegetable patch or something outside the off stump there.

He's been digging away with a hoe or something. I mean, it's extraordinary thing. It is extraordinary, but I have also heard, and this is not 100% confirmed, I guess, but I hear that they actually replaced the groundsmen. I'm not sure if it was the one who was appointed who's been replaced or somebody else. So it's another one. It may well be. But if you notice, you see the red soil that we saw in the first test match.

This is black soil. But it doesn't seem to make a difference. It just seems to be very, very dry. that's what Mark Butcher said in the pitch report as well and frankly Rahane said that in the previous evening's test conference or press conference as well didn't he it's going to turn on day one

What's the feeling in India about that I mean it's clearly been prepared to do that I mean is there a feeling of well that that's just the way it is and other countries do it and you know that's just one of those things it's one of those things isn't it I guess you we've seen it backfire

we saw that in Puna against the Steve Smith's Australians where India lost and lost in three and a half days to the left arm spin and we were bowled out twice. India were bowled out twice. So I don't know. I think it's a point of view. From a pure cricket point of view, I think you will agree with me that you want a wicket that deteriorates yes, but slowly and give something for everybody through the five days, kind of neutralizing the toss a little bit. You don't want the toss to be the decision maker or the single biggest influencer but that's how it looks at the moment it's going to be a tough task for india to sorry for england to to fight back which they may well do yeah what was your

reading of virac coli's dismissal he was playing a wg grace by the look of it extraordinary i mean i was i was sort of holding my breath and saying no no no no no you cannot take a review for a bold and mercifully he didn't but he was just i think bamboozled redefined he really was I don't think he expected that to happen, and that was a terrific delivery. I heard Gavisker in commentary comparing that to the great Erapoli Prasana. I hope someone tells Moyni that. Oh, well, that will be a huge amount. And meantime, I mean, Rohit Sharma, we've been obviously purring about the way that he's played.

So calm, so unflappable. Any bad ball goes for four. Sweeping a bit more, maybe, than we saw from India in that first test match, as if they've taken something away from Joe Root perhaps for that. That afternoon partnership looks to have set India up. Yes, I think that's been the defining partnership. And I think that sweep that he was playing also infected Rahane a little bit, though it did cause his downfall in the end, but both of them actually.

But the fact is they, I think, have figured out this is one way to cope with the sharp turning ball outside the off-stamp. Interesting then that here, without you to give us balance, obviously, Prakash, we were wondering about those two third umpiring decisions, the stumping of Rohit Sharma and definitely the catch off Rahane clearly where that was just a mistake. The catch was just a... I think you have to put it down.

You can use whatever adjective you want to use but yeah, that was a clear, blatant error and third umpires are not supposed to make those errors. But what I was happy, I mean, pleased in a way, cricketing justice happened very quickly and more importantly, I think the fact that the review was reinstated was a sensible decision, whoever took it.

Very, very good. But I don't think that's forgivable. On the stumping, it reminds me of Ian Bell and that game in the champion's trophy where, you know, the benefit of the doubt generally should go to the batsman. I think there was sufficient doubt, in my opinion, that whether we couldn't see the reverse angle,

I think that would have helped immensely. But I think the empire made a call. I'm not going to be harsh on the stumping, but yes, the other one was a clear error which shouldn't have happened. I agree with you on both. I think given that he hadn't got another shot to go for, I think he did therefore give benefit the doubt to the bats on that occasion. And he can't argue with that, can you?

No, not really. Right, Prakash, well, you got your rupees out early in the last test match and loaded them onto England. Before my turn to put my pounds, I think that's a rather good score. I think you might be levelling this unless somebody, probably two England batsmen score like really good 80s or 90s or the really big score

from one player but that feels like a lot of runs already on this pitch it does and I would pick Root and Moyni Ali believe it or not I think they're the two who are going to get the runs for England if England are to make a real match of it

which they well can This is the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live well Rohit Sharma finished on a 161 of 231 balls. Here are the thoughts of Sir Alastair Cook. Well, I think he's a little bit more attacking than I am. I was, sorry.

He's not quite say wag in terms of his that kind of attack. You'd say he's probably on the lead, lead, number one, most attacking, most successful opening batsman over a consistent period of time. He's probably in the next tier down of aggressiveness. But he looks like control. what in that innings they look so controlled and everything looked like he's playing at his pace and when he wanted to attack he attacked on his terms and everything else was quite controlled the only of the issue with roachshama it's obviously that ball outside off stump the way he got

nicked off in that first innings last last test match in english conditions you know his record away from home isn't great and that's that is the big area you know you have to target him but on this wicket here where you don't have that pace you don't have that carry he looks absolutely world class and his stats in in India averaging over 50 shows that yeah it's interesting isn't it

you do have these different categories of openers and and both can be totally effective in their own different ways I mean you you would have played completely differently on this service like it did in Mumbai and that famous win as opposed to you know how how Sharma

played here and opening the battle is not all about occupying the crease and doing that sort of role that you did, there is also this other side to opening the batting as well. Yeah, I think in an absolute ideal world, if you had an opening batsman who could

dominate, like the say wagg and like the row it here, how much gold does? Because that first session you're already away, aren't you? The David Warner's a great example, isn't it, at the moment as well? He's been around a long time. If you're naturally attacking opening batsmen, you know, you go, suddenly by

two hours by lunch you've already taken a massive step forward in the game and they're vital aren't they they're but to do it in english conditions consistently i think is very very hard you know there's too many times the odds are in the bowler's favor in england to start with that first two hours how many times you say in england the first two hours get through that first two hours it flattens out in the afternoon you feel that naturally attacking batsman that's high risk isn't it doesn't often come off in england but in these conditions where it's lovely to open the batting tends to get harder, you know, you can see why it's best to play like that. It's, I mean, you were making the point about how little test cricket he's played for his years

and for his experience and so on. It's as if he was sort of, you know, pigeonholed really as being a, albeit a very successful one-day opening vats, but it took a long time for him to get his chance. I think also the strength and depth in that, you know, in 2007 where he made his one-day debut, you know, you took and look at the players there, you know, Ganguly, Seywag, Jaravid, Tendorka, breaking into that, you know, isn't. It was very hard. And when you did get your chance, you'd have to take it straight away if you did.

And I know he waited a long time to make his test debut 2012 or 13. But that just shows the strength and depth. And also when he has played, hasn't been that consistent to start with. And, you know, Indian selectors are a lot like they have been in this game, they're quite keen to make changes, you know, maybe, you know, If it was English, he might have been given a longer run. Do you have to be more patient with a shot playing opening batsman than with someone who's a more obdurate type?

Because he does give you a bit of a chance. I mean, he can obviously seize the initiative and get innings off to flying starts and the field is running around and over the place and so on. But he does naturally give you a bit more of a chance, isn't he? Yeah, he's only just started opening, hasn't he? I don't think he's batted a lot in the middle order, and it's only the last little bit he's kind of taking his one day

opening role he's obviously opened a lot in one day cricket into the Red Bulls so but I think you know he's here to stay for a while now isn't it they like they like having him in the squad and and in the team for that you know his all-round package you know clearly his runs and the manner he gets his runs if he gets in he's going to do what he's done today you're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live so time for some reactions Simon Mann has been speaking to Jack Leach well can you put that day into some sort of context. How does it feel at the end of the first day? Yeah, no, it's a hard-fought day. I think we had to be quite patient and we've got a couple of wickets towards the end,

which is obviously good and with that new ball hopefully tomorrow morning, we can get a couple quickly. What do you feel about the state of the game, though, with the ball doing as much as it's done on the first day? Yeah, I think there's definitely challenging balls on that wicket. I think as you saw with Roit Sharma and Rahane that once you get a partnership going and that with that older ball it can get a little bit easier so we have to certainly believe

that we can do the same when we come to battle. It's a first day service. It was a first day surface. Does it feel like a third day pitch or a fourth day pitch? Well, it's my second game in India so compared to the first we could be played on I'd say yes

I mean the first wicket didn't spin really for the first couple of days so yeah probably is it's probably a little bit drier and yeah it's obviously spinning yeah

what did you feel about row hits innings I mean obviously you wanted to get rid of him but I mean can you sort say how you felt he played today yeah he played a serious knock obviously a world class player

and to see how he went about it well I didn't enjoy it but he obviously batted well and yeah he's put obviously helping to a decent score at the moment haven't seen the way he

played do you think that England will have to change their batting approach when it's their turn that you know the feeling there might just be a ball with your name on it somewhere on the line I think we've shown over the last three games that we've been able to adapt quite well

I think we've, you know, even back in Sri Lanka, we were playing on some spinning wickets. And, yeah, I think the lads have adapted really well to different surfaces. So I have full belief that we can do that here as well. There's been a lot of talk in the last few days about Jimmy Anderson's remarkable over on the last day of the first test.

He bowled Shubman Gill and Ajinka Rahane with a reverse swing, setting up the win for England. And Anderson's been chatting to Greg James and Felix White on the tail enders podcast. It's so strange because the first, I remember the first ball and I was a bit stiff from bowling in the first innings and then being in the field, your body generally needs to wake up a little bit, you need to bowl a few balls to get into the spell.

But I remember the first ball came out absolutely perfectly just where I wanted it and just swung in a little bit. So I thought, oh, that's handy, I can then now adjust for that. I can throw it a little bit wider and hopefully tail on to off-stump. and yeah I think it's just one of those things where it was just it just happened to be my day

you know because there's a lot of times where you're aiming for a spot on the pitch and you just keep missing it no matter how hard you try and hit it you keep missing it and it just doesn't happen for you that particular day but yesterday it just happened for me

and I don't know I felt I did feel in really good rhythm all week and didn't have the figures to show for it maybe in the first innings but I felt I just felt that something could happen on that pitch because I'd seen a few balls do something unusual

when Bumra and Ishamt bowled on it at us in the second inning. So there was definitely something there. So it was just a case of we kept it really simple as well. I just thought, I'm going to bowl, because when it's reversing, you can think I'm going to bowl a few out and then a few in or three out, one in and whatever. But this was really simple. We thought, right, the pitch, we've got to bring the stumps in as much as possible.

I'm just going to go in. I'm going to set a feel for it. I had two catches on the leg side. this is what I'm going to do I'm going to try and do it as often as I possibly can Oh my God How many times have you watched

The over? I mean I've literally I'm just like It saved me from doom scrolling Because on Twitter I'm just watching that again and again And again Yeah the noise of the stumps

Clatter it It's unbelievable I think I did you know what From just from a sort of fan perspective The really nice thing about that spell Or the way we've won here Is that we've had that whole winter Of getting really

accommodated with all those Indian players And we've all grown the opinions of like, wow, these are legends. You're looking at like, even like Gil, Rahani, Coley, Pant. Like, it's, when you name those names now, they are up there with Laxman,

all those kind of players in your head as a sort of mythological cricketers. So to watch Jimmy and this England team go and do what they did to them over there, it really added sort of gravitas to it because we know what great players all that top six are. And so see Jimmy move that ball.

Like, the ball to Gil and Rahani, Jim, it moves like, It looks like it moves about two meters from the shot they play to where it ends up. Yeah, but it's not. I don't think. It moves a lot. Just as enough, doesn't it? Like, I mean, I thought the LB was out as well.

I thought it was absolutely dead. I was convinced. Yeah, well, it kind of was there, wasn't it? If he'd have given it out on the field, it would have been completely, you know, it was, it was so close and so low on the stumps as well. Yeah. but yeah it was good I really enjoyed that

although it was one of the my favourites that I've ever bowled and I'll be honest I have watched it back as well Yeah Oh good of course I think I've been back that

My favourite one is the Is the Gil Wicket What's your favourite? Mine Yeah Yeah I'd say Gil Yeah

Just I feel like I want to do a bit I want to do a bit of Housekeeping because lots of people Obviously get in touch With me and Greg now For questions for you Jimmy And one person has asked

on the Rahani delivery, they've slowed it down and said it looks like you're bowled. I haven't noticed this, but it looks like you're bowling it like a leg cutter. Is there any truth in that? No, no, it's seam up reverse swing. So for all the cricketers, for all the kids and seam balls at home, you're just like running in and bowling that sort of seam up and it just moves late because of the conditions. Yeah, pretty much.

The wicket was so abrasive and the ball was in our, in India's first innings, the second new ball was reversing after like four overs. it was ridiculous so so abrasive and that's why I was held back in in the second innings that's why leachie and joffra opened the bowling and that yeah once it starts reversing like that I'll just try and I mean the danger is you start trying to try and push it into the stumps but that sort of defeats the object you've got to try and almost try to bowl it like an outswinger normal outswinger and it will go in so I start I try try and aim like almost at jos Joss has left foot behind the stumps

and then let the ball do everything else. Oh, magic. Yeah, it was interesting seeing you first change because that's not a thing that happens very often at all, is it? But obviously you knew that it was a good thing to wait and just assess the situation a bit and see what the other two could do.

Yeah, but it made complete sense to me on that pitch. Jopha with a new ball, his pace, his bounce. That's the best time for him to bowl. Jack Leach with a new ball, get more bounce and potentially more turned one might skid on as well with a new ball makes it more difficult for the batsman to line up so just made sense can i just make a quick point on that to that note um i thought it was a lot will be

made about how joe roots batted which we should get onto in a second people have been sending in his average since coming on tail enders which i don't think we can just put down to coincidence but he's also had a really great he had such a great he had such a great test match as a captain And I think with Leach opening is a really great case in point because for people at watch the whole test match, Pant really went after Leach and hit him for about 80 off eight overs. And now in my experience in the past, if an English spinner gets pulled apart like that in the 90s

or even like five, 10 years ago, the captain off that point will sort of hide them. They'll be very reluctant to bowl them again. But as soon as Pant got out, Leach came straight back into the attack, like real sort of vote of confidence. And in the second innings, Leach opened the bowling. And I thought it was a really,

I thought it was really tactful and it really tells you about where Joe Roots come from to the sort of emotional captain. He understood how important Jack Leach was for him and how important it was to get him back in the game. And we're so used to seeing Spinner just sort of be hidden after they get taken apart like that. Yeah, it was good from Joe.

I think showing faith in a bowler when they've been under the pump does a lot for their confidence. But I think Jack's got to take a lot of credit for how he came back. on another day he couldn't really get hold of any of those sixes that he hit he sort of got half a bat on them but because the ground's fairly small and he's strong fella he swings quite hard they managed to get over the boundary so on another day he could have got a wicket early on and then obviously his confidence is high straight away so I think there was a break we I think it was the end of day three came back on day four and he

bowed really well the morning and day four and I think that did him the world a good just to you know we rallied around him at night as well just trying to tell him you You know, it's just one of those days. It happens to everyone and came back brilliantly. Don't forget to listen to Tail Enders and all the podcasts for BBC Cricket via BBC Sounds. Finally, you can follow the second day's play in Chennai on the BBC Sport website and the app with the cricket social available worldwide from 6.30am. And as well as the cricket, there's always room for emails and tweets,

and you just never know quite what might happen during the day. Now, earlier, I'm worried. I saw Alison Cook next to me, kept on using the word lab. Well, not kept on you. You asked what I was being up to, whatever. Well, I wasn't complaining. But you know, but you did say the word lambing about four times in about a minute and a quarter. Okay, sorry.

And the result of that was that it got stuck in my head. And mine as well. And all I could think of was the Bob Marley song, Jamming. For obvious reasons. So we asked if any of you out there had got any alternative lyrics. Okay, can I just say I'm not singing? Whatever happens, I'm not a tough as I've got to do. I've got no singing confidence.

If you ask me to sing... No, I'm not singing. I thought you said... Weren't you the lad who sang walking in the air on the snowman? Is that not you? I thought it was. Just read the email.

I just feel as I stitch up. There's aggers is around somewhere. No, don't worry. I don't think you're going to be stitched up. This is from a brilliantly named Brandon Bisby. And this is... Okay. That's Bisbee Brandon.

I think it's Brandon Bisby. So well done, Brandon Bisby. He's come and given us some alternative. lyrics to the Bob Bob Marley song Jamming. But he's replaced the word jamming with lambing. So it goes something along the lines of

all right, we're lambing. I want to lamb it with you, E-W-E. Oh, yes. The classic. Total quality. Genius. We're lambing. Lamming.

I hope you like lambing, too. You get the idea? Yeah, I like it. It's not bad, damn. It's not bad. now this bit gets quite tricky ram has tuped spring is near pen the ewes hung up the shears leave them to it maybe lend a hand

soon we'll put them back on the lamb we're thriving life to the full lambing till the lambs are through we're lambing lambing lambing lambing lambing I want to lamb it with you that's basically

that's basically it Dan, that was very good. That was very good. I think you should do that every day. Just imagine someone just turning on the radio now. I hope you hear the cricket and then just hear it now. Well, apologies. No, brilliant.

You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Hello, I'm Scarlett and I want to believe. And I'm Scott, and honestly, I really don't. Our quest is to uncover mysteries and the unexplained. And I'm going to try. try and convert my boyfriend, Scott, to believe. Why do I get the feeling that you're going to do the voiceovers from the toilet again? Join us for a podcast talk and aliens, ghosts, time travellers,

and more bizarre stories that will blow your mind. Good luck with us. Scarlett Moffat wants to believe only on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.