Published 20:31 IST, February 13th 2021
Michael Vaughan feels score of 300 equivalent to 500 on current Chennai wicket
Michael Vaughan reckons that a score of 300 is an ample total on the Chepauk wicket where the 2nd Test between India & England is being contested
Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels that the first innings total of 300 in the second Test between India and England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, will be equivalent to 500 on the same wicket where both teams had locked horns in the last Test with the visitors coming out on top by a mammoth 227 runs.
Coming back to the ongoing Test match, Indian skipper Virat Kohli won a crucial toss and decided to bat first on a wicket that is expected to deteriorate as the game progresses.
'I reckon...': Michael Vaughan
Taking to the micro-blogging site, Vaughan wrote he reckons that a score of 300 in the first innings is the equivalent of 500 that was scored on this Chennai 'beach' last week.
The Joe Root-led side had scored 578 in the series opener. In fact, Root himself had led his team from the front with an outstanding knock of 218. Meanwhile, this was also his fifth Test double-century which also won him the Man of the Match award after England bundled out India for a paltry score of 192 chasing 420 on the final day.
India dominate proceedings on Day 1
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, opener Rohit Sharma (161) and Ajinkya Rahane batted well on a difficult surface after the hosts had lost their top-order even before breaching the three-figure mark. After both the set batsmen were dismissed, it appeared as if India would suffer a batting collapse after Ravichandran Ashwin also followed with just 13 runs to his name.
Nonetheless, wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant had other ideas as he went after the English bowlers. He is unbeaten at 33 including five boundaries and a maximum as India's scorecard reads 300/6 at stumps on Day 1.
This is a must-win contest for Team India in order to stay alive in the four-match series. More importantly, the Virat Kohli-led side cannot afford to lose another match in this series as it will end their chances of playing the ICC World Test Championship final at the 'Mecca of Cricket' Lord's between June 18-22 against New Zealand.
Updated 20:31 IST, February 13th 2021