After Vardah, Chepauk ready for another battle

Instead, the usual clamour for tickets, mostly complimentary, is intense as though the score is two-all and the fate of the series depended solely on this Test. On the eve of the Test the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk wore a deserted look as the tickets had been sold out much before the Mumbai Test. 

Not since the days of Sachin Tendulkar has the city come across a hero like Ravichandran Ashwin and unlike Sachin, the Indian off-spinner in the middle of a dream run is a local boy too. This makes the Test doubly special for Chennaites: Free from tension as the series is over and one more Ashwin show on a wicket that is likely to assist spin as history tells us about the MAC stadium.

Behind closed gates on Wednesday, the wicket was reportedly dried using charcoal and the idea was only to make it conducive for spin. Cyclone Vardah might have rendered it damp with the temperature in the early 20s but if Sun shines on it for a couple of days and coal giving its needed puffing up, it will behave like the Mumbai wicket. 

Virat Kohli has mentioned that he won’t look at the series score and rest on laurels. A 4-0 result would enhance his reputation as an aggressive captain. That will be India’s best score against England. At the media interaction, he gave a hint of his far-sightedness when he said he was planning a County stint ahead of the return series against England in 2018. Some long-term planning indeed. England paceman Jimmy Anderson had a jibe at him after his double century questioning his batting skills abroad. 

Though he ignored the Jimmy remark, Kohli was already working on his probable weakness in English conditions when he toured there last time and the County plan came right out of his dashboard. He has visions of raising a dream team over the next seven to eight years, a team that would win matches in all formats across continents. Looking at the current side, it may be possible, but playing in South Africa, Australia and England may not bring the same results. That is why the captain put his hands up and said he was preparing himself and the team for the hard grind ahead.