After making 17 off 14 balls, Brook was bowled by India’s legspinner Varun Chakravarthy, who two balls later removed Liam Livingstone in a nearly same manner. India’s spinners claimed five wickets as England fell from 65 for 2 to 109 for 8 and finally 132 all out. With a resounding 43 balls remaining, Abhishek Sharma’s 79 off 34 balls eventually doomed them to a seven-wicket loss.
With 3 for 23 in his four overs, Chakravarthy was the attack’s star, although fellow legspinner Ravi Bishnoi was also difficult to dismiss with figures of 0 for 22. On the eve of the second Twenty20 International in Chennai, Brook also hinted that England’s difficulties in selecting their variations may have had an atmospheric component.
“I didn’t face Bishnoi but Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler,” he stated. “He’s difficult to choose. In fact, I believe that picking was much more difficult the other night due to the haze. We can maybe see the ball more easily because the air is a little cleaner here.
“He bowls really well and possesses a wide range of abilities with remarkable precision. Since their spinners pose the biggest threat to them, we will try to exert as much pressure as we can on them in the hopes that they will collapse from there.
Ted Dexter, the England selectors’ then-chairman, notoriously blamed fog for his team’s crushing loss in the first Test, which was played at Eden Gardens, during their 1992–93 tour of India. Even though he received a lot of backlash for his comments, the problem has grown more serious in recent years. For example, India’s 2017 Test match against Sri Lanka had to be canceled because of the pollution after many players puked.
In Chennai, England is expected to make at least one change to their starting lineup. Gus Atkinson, who had a memorable night with bat and ball in Kolkata, will be replaced by Brydon Carse, a speed alternative. The 12-man roster also includes Jamie Smith, who might replace Jacob Bethell, who was unwell and missed Friday’s training.
Although Brendon McCullum had cautioned “there’ll be some times we don’t quite get it right” in his pre-series remarks to the media last week, the crushing defeat on Wednesday signaled a low-key beginning to his term as England’s white-ball head coach.
His decision to name Brook as Jos Buttler’s vice-captain, however, is more evidence of his intention to bring the white-ball and red-ball teams together under a common ideology and with as many cross-over players as possible. Additionally, the way Brook was offered the deputy’s position demonstrated the casual attitude that has driven the Test team’s performances in previous seasons.
“We were sat in the bar the other night and Baz texted me from across the other side of the room,” he explained. “I just said, ‘Beautiful, thanks,’ after he said, ‘Congrats, you’re the vice-captain.'” Very little talking took place.
