Batting concerns for India after tour match

Opener Shikhar Dhawan fell for his second duck of the match, while number three Cheteshwar Pujara made only 23. India reached 89-2 in its second innings when rain ended the match half an hour after tea. Essex declared on 359-8 in its first innings of the tour match, giving up a deficit of 36 runs. 

The home side kept the tourist on the field for well over a day and, if it had not made the sporting decision to declare, it could have made India’s bowlers toil longer. Dhawan was then particularly guilty of wasting the host’s hospitality, completing a pair when he was bowled by Matt Quinn.

After bagging a golden duck in the first innings, Dhawan has faced only four deliveries in the match. Pujara at least made a start before falling to Paul Walter, leaving KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane to ease their way to the premature close. Earlier, India remained reluctant to employ its spinners, with all but 11 of the 94 overs in the Essex innings sent down by fast bowlers. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bowled five overs, while leftarm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was employed for only four. 

Kuldeep, impressive during the limited-overs matches against England, conceded six runs an over and was the victim of some brutal treatment from Walter, who made 75. After James Foster went for 42 and Matt Coles for nought, both to Umesh Yadav, Walter was supported by Aaron Nijjar. They, like Feroze Khushi who followed, usually ply their trade either in the Essex second team or in club cricket, but were not fazed by India’s international attack. 

The first Test begins at Edgbaston on Wednesday. For Essex, a county without a rich benefactor nor with a Test match ground to sustain it financially, the tour game against India was a big deal. The best Test side in the world came to Chelmsford and the club, rightly, wanted to make the most of it in terms of revenue and exposure. It advertised the match for weeks and there was excitement surrounding the visit of Virat Kohli’s star studded team. 

Yet India treated them with a general lack of respect which started with the remarkable request, just the day before the game to reduce the match by half. Scheduled as a four-day game for months, the Indian management asked Essex and the ECB to reduce it to a twoday affair. Only when it was told of the financial impact that would have on the club through the loss of ticket sales, did India relent and agree to a three-day game, agreed in conjunction with ECB chief executive Tom Harrison and operations director John Carr. 

It still meant, however, that those supporters who bought tickets for the Saturday - a weekend which meant it was likely to have been a decent sized crowd - were disappointed although they will, get refunds. Essex, confirmed that the ECB will compensate them for the cost of refunds.

The match was also decidedly average. India requested a match involving more than 11 players, which meant no first-class status and relegating it to little more than a glorified net session. India is not the only team to do this sort of thing of course. England has done it a few times in the past - and given the visitor just one warm-up game before the first Test. 

The rationale behind giving as many players match-time is understandable. But this was not a proper match, not helped by Essex’s decision to rest its first choice bowling attack, and the spectacle reduced as a result.