Published 19:21 IST, February 10th 2021
Monty Panesar suggests renaming India-Eng series to 'Tendulkar Cook Trophy'; Here's why
Monty Panesar also suggested that the Test series could be renamed as 'Botham Kapil Trophy' after the legendary Indian captain Kapil Dev and Ian Botham.
With the India-England series currently underway, former cricketer Monty Panesar has suggested to rename the Test series to 'Tendulkar Cook Trophy'. Taking to Twitter, the former England spinner said that since both - Sachin Tendulkar & Alastair Cook - have the highest Test runs for their respective countries, the India-England series should be renamed after them in honour. He also highlighted that Master Blaster is the 'biggest legend' and there is no series named after him.
Panesar also suggested that the Test series could be renamed as 'Botham Kapil Trophy' after the legendary Indian captain Kapil Dev and Ian Botham. However, he added that the India-Pakistan Test series would be called 'Imran Kapil Trophy'. England is currently in India for 2-month-long tour with the Test series currently underway.
Widely regarded as one of the best batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of being the highest run-scorer in international cricket, representing India from 1989 to 2013. Tendulkar scored 15,921 runs across 200 Test matches with 51 hundreds to his name. The Mumbai-lad also captained the Indian team for a brief stint. Tendulkar has been awarded the Arjuna Award in 1994, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1997, the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1999 and 2008, respectively and the Bharat Ratna in 2013.
England tour of India
The second Test match will be played at the Chepauk between February 13-17. The newly renovated Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad will be contesting the final two games (Feb 24-28) & (March 4-8) respectively, with the first one being a day-night affair. The BCCI has also opened gates for crowds from the second Test onwards allowing fans to catch the action live. Following the Tests, India and England will lock horns in the shortest format of the game. The 4-match T20 series will be played at Ahmedabad in view of the COVID-19 restrictions. The tour ends with a 3-match ODI series which will be played in Pune.
England take lead at Chepauk
Defeating India by 227-runs in the first Test of the 4-match series, England took the lead as skipper Joe Root registered a double hundred in his 100th Test to put his team in the winning position. The Men in Blue fought hard to remain in the game, even as skipper Virat Kohli held one end strong on the final day aiming for a draw. However, the experience of Jimmy Anderson came into play as he rattled the Indian batsmen to take the visitors home.
Skipper Kohli waged a lone battle as India kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nonetheless, once he was cleaned up by Stokes for a fighting 72, it was only a matter of time before the English bowlers ran through Team India's lower-order as they were bundled out for just 192. England Test skipper Joe Root was adjudged the Man of the Match for his outstanding double-century (218) in the first innings.
Updated 19:21 IST, February 10th 2021