England's ‘Bazball’ meets identical twin in India’s ‘Gamball’

The muchballyhooed term is none other than lsquoGamballrsquo inspired by head coach Gautam GambhirIndiarsquos flamboyant style of play may have been wildly at odds with the genteel surroundings of Test cricket but its revolution is no gimmick On Tuesday in Kanpurrsquos weatherhit Green Park ground the strategy notched up a triumph that not many could foreseeThe hosts made mincemeat of Bangladesh for a meager 146 that had seemed nearly out of reach for the Bangla Tigers Chasing a modest target of 95 postlunch India breezed to 98 for three in a mere 104 balls during the second sessionScoring at such a breakneck pace undoubtedly requires some rather unconventional stroke play and India have resorted to deploying shots typically reserved for the adrenalinefueled circus of T20 cricketPrior to this whimsical lsquoGamballrsquo philosophy one could have expected the second Test to meander to a dull draw eliciting groans from critics lamenting Test cricketrsquos tediousness At least now none can deny that the thrilling escapades by Rohit Sharmas men were a delightful breath of fresh air for redballInterestingly Jatin Paranjape member of BCCIrsquos Cricket Advisory Committee CAC and cofounder of KheloMore offered another perspectiveldquoIndias batters are not doing anything out of their natural games Right from Number 1 to Number 8 each and every batter is by nature attacking and freely scoring Now under captain Rohit they have been given a license to play the redball game as they approach a whiteball game In a way it is a war cry before the Australian series It is as if the team is saying lsquowe are coming to get you in the same wayrsquo sicrdquo he told MidDayIf there is anyone who embraced lsquoGamballrsquo to its fullest it would be none other than Jaiswal besides his captainThe lsquojuniorrsquo Mumbaikar reached his second halfcentury of the match in only 43 balls peppering the field with eight fours and a six before falling victim to Taijul Islam which mercifully ended his 58run partnership with Virat KohliAlso ReadPakistan cricket just died a thousand deathsKohli ever the steadying influence contributed an unbeaten 29 remaining at the crease as Rishabh Pant sealed the deal with a boundaryBangladeshrsquos Mehidy Hasan Miraz made his mark by dismissing Sharma for a mere eight runs and Shubman Gill for six showing that even the best can fall in the face of mediocrity This series victory not only solidified Indiarsquos dominance at the top of the World Test Championship WTC rankings but also left Australia in a distant second placeIndias commanding performance was fueled by Jaiswals explosive 72run blitz in the first innings effectively forcing a result in a match that saw zero action on Saturday as well as Sunday due to relentless rain and a sodden outfieldBangladesh resumed their second innings at a dismal 262 on the final day trailing by 26 runs Unsurprisingly their batting lineup crumbled in the first session with opener Shadman Islam managing to topscore with a rather uninspiring 50Also ReadCricket needs an indoor revolution to combat weather woesRavichandran Ashwin Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah were all in on the act each snaring three wickets as Bangladeshs batting woes reached comical proportionsMushfiqur Rahim the last man standing took his sweet time before finally succumbing to Bumrah for 37 delaying lunch and the inevitable with the kind of defiance that seemed destined for what else but drama Ashwin kicked off the dayrsquos proceedings by dismissing firstinnings centurion Mominul Haque who was caught at leg slip by KL Rahul for a paltry two runsThat was you see only the opening actLeftarm spinner Jadeja who had already celebrated reaching his 300th Test wicket just the day prior struck gold in his very first over of the day by sending captain Najmul Hossain Shanto back to the pavilion for a lackluster 19 One can only wonder how the Bangladeshi captain felt watching his teammates fold like a house of cardsShadman initially looking promising reached his fifty off 97 balls but promptly fell to fast bowler Akash Deep leaving the teamrsquos hopes hanging by a thread Jadeja then showcased his prowess by catching and bowling the veteran allrounder Shakib Al Hasan for a zero possibly marking his last Test appearance Shakib at the ripe age of 37 had announced his international retirement ahead of the match which might just become his swansong if he cant make it back for a scheduled series in South AfricaAlso ReadBazball is out Bossball is inThe first innings saw Bangladesh bowled out for 233 and India clearly in a hurry to reach the finish line declared at a staggering 2859 off just 344 oversWith the T20 series on the horizon the teams now shift focus ready to face off in a threematch extravaganza starting this Sunday in Gwalior As the dust settles on this match one cant help but reflect on the disparity between the two teamsIndia has once again proven their mettle dispatching Bangladesh in what feels like a mere six sessions after losing two entire days to rain Bravo What a display of dominance The gulf between the two sides has never been clearer and one can only wonder what the future holds for a Bangladeshi side that appears to be stuck in a perpetual rebuilding phase