Match drawn
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Joe Root
Batter
Bowler
There aren't very many things in life that are worth waiting all day for. But when a match is poised as deliciously as this one, we'd have easily waited another hour, perhaps only in false hope once again, but waited, and waited rather happily. But, well, the umpires and the groundsmen apparently don't seem to trust Google and its sureshot rain-stopping prediction of 4:30pm and then Rishabh Pant's surehot daredevilry of going after this target. Nevertheless, it's been some match this. Chennai-2004 has found its successor. We'll live in the memories of these four days, and it was fun bringing them to you, as I, Vineet Anantharaman, sign off on behalf of Raju Peethala, Pradeep Krishnamurthy and our scorer, Mukesh Gowda. Until Lord's, where we don't have to juggle screens with the Olympics, ta ta!!
Joe Root | England captain | MoM: The weather disrupted what would have been a very interesting final day. Great Test match to play in and watch as well. Sets up the series really well and hopefully we can take it into the next games. We certainly believed we could win. We knew we would have opportunities if we took our catches and kept our fields. It's a shame it ended this way. There are certain areas where we want to get better in. We want to get better at the top of the order and take our catches. We need strong characters. We want to keep that enthususiasm in, it is fun scoring runs and a fun game. Really relishing the opportunities in front of us. We have to deal with till the schedule changes and the setup changes. The experienced guys have it easier going from white ball to Test cricket, but the youngers guys might not have that experience. It must be quite challenging for our youngsters, but that's no excuse. To finally get to my century was a relief given how I played throughout the day. I think India have a very good seam attack and credit to them for the way they bowled. I just wanted to put the pressure back on them with a few shots. Certainly feel full of confidence on the back of that.
Virat Kohli | India captain: We were expecting rain on days three and four but it chose to come on day five. It would have been enjoyable to play and watch, but it's a shame. This is exactly what we wanted to do; start strong. On day five we knew we had our chances. We certainly felt like we were on top of the game. Getting that lead was crucial, but it's a shame we couldn't finish day five. Getting to fifty overnight was important. We just didn't want to play for survival. Our intent kept us ahead. It's hard work of three odd weeks for our bowlers with the bat. We were talking of a lead of 40-odd but we ended up with 95 and those runs were gold dust. Most likely this will be our template in this series, but adaptability has been our strength. The conditions and the pace on the wicket needs to be seen, but this team will be our template. England and India have always been a blockbuster, and looking forward to the next Test.
Harsha Bhogle: Sadly, that is it. India got the honours maybe but that doesn't mean much. Root's century has saved England. To Lord's now
15:50 Local Time | 20:20 IST: Boooooooo. Match abandoned. It's a real shame. From Bumrah's magic to Rahul's newfound technique, to Jimmy overtaking Jumbo, to Root plucking this match from the dead, it really is a shame for it to end up washed out. Anyway, presentations can be had under umbrellas. Stick around ..
The umpires are out there by the square covers, inspecting and talking to the groundsmen. Some puddles too have come up in the uncovered outfield. We should have news.
15:45 Local Time, 20:15 IST: It's a skill giving out false hopes and then laughing in your face. The English weather has clearly mastered this art. And we never learn either, falling for it, over and over. Never mind, to simplify, it's drizzling again. We'd rather stick to our 4:30pm hope. In Google we trust ..
15:30 Local Time, 14:30 GMT, 20:00 IST: Sixty minutes before schedule, IT HAS STOPPED RAINING. What was all this fuss about! Anyway, those who decide, have decided to take Tea now. You've waited all day, now go, wait another 20 minutes.
15:20 Local Time, 14:20 GMT, 19:50 IST: Okay, let's quickly lay out the possibilities. Google's forecast says it should stop raining completely by 4:30pm local | 9:00pm IST. So, assuming we get the ground ready miraculously and squeeze in a 150-minute final session, the most we could get is 38 overs, which kind of allows the non-Pujara end of Indian batsmen to go nuts. Surely even the worst of collapses and the best of bowlers need more than 38 overs. This sounds like a plan. If only someone somewhere were listening ..
Thanks Raju P.
raja: What is the final venue for 2021-2023 WTC? 'It's Lord's at the moment'
15:10 local, 19:40 IST: Hosing down now. Alright folks, I have exhausted my quota of weather updates for the day. Time for some cardamom tea. Here's Vineet Anantharaman to try and bring more (luck) updates, that aren't rain, hopefully...
Armaan: After two days of exciting Test cricket, today is the equivalent of hanging around at the airport for a delayed flight at the end of a great holiday.
14:50 local, 19:20 IST: A quick swipe at the weather app and it tells me "Rain for the next hour" Brollies up and it's getting pretty grim at TrentBridge. Fancy a Rishabh Pant theatre with 100 to get from 10 overs?
Reckon it's not a bad time to play a few number games and possible scenarios. So, we had around 30 overs in the near-three-hour final session yesterday that commenced at 16:15 local (20:45 IST). 120 runs and 6 wickets in that last session. With each passing minute, we are slowly getting into that territory of losing the second session which leaves us with a possible 'Hundred version' of Test cricket, if and when we get any play, in the final session.
14:25 local, 18:55 IST: All hopes sink further and further. It's gotten gloomy with the drizzle gaining pace and the covers are back on. Swathes of empty seats all across the ground and that's an indication that we might be in for another lengthy delay.
Jaydeep: I have got an exam at 7, I was hoping to see India win before that. 'There will be an official inspection at 7 pm'
It has stopped raining and there will be an inspection at 2.30 PM local time ( 7 PM IST)," is the latest from BCCI.
13:50 local, 18:20 IST: Finally, we have some positive news. The rain has stopped and the Super Soppers are at work.
13:35 local, 18:05 IST: No respite from the rain. It's still gloomy and the weather is expected to clear around 16:00 local.
Abhishek: How many overs have we lost until now? 'We have lost a few overs, but plan can be extended by an hour later'
13:00 local, 17:30 IST: Ten minutes away from the scheduled likey-to-be-rescheduled start of second session, and I'm afraid we have nothing but the dreaded four-letter word to update: R-A-I-N.
Pranay: It is 5:20 here and last update was at 4:40 pm. Is it still raining there? 'It is and it's heavy as well. Can't see any immediate prospects of play'
Ayush Singh: Can we see Pant and Jadeja batting up the order today? 'Could be, if we do start and India get into a decent position'
Kamal Kurapati: Met office issued yellow warning here, which means heavy thunderstorms, Continuous heavy rains today. Even if we have some play, it would be tougher for the Indian batsmen. Conditions are very much suitable for England pacers
In case you're wondering: The play can go till 19:30 local (12:00am Indian time) weather permitting.
12:10 local, 16:40 IST: We are hearing that the umpires could call for an early lunch at 12:30 local. Indeed, it's official now. Lunch to be taken in 20 minutes and don't see the game resuming before that. It's gonna be a long wait before we build some anticipation towards another long wait. Yes, one of those days...
Oh rain, do you not understand the meaning of relief? Just as we started to get our hopes high, our best friend wanders in to poke hello. Proper rain back again. Ignore the previous update please.