The hour after lunch would exist as a lurid fever dream in the mind of 35,000-odd spectators at the Eden Gardens. Barely had they settled into the pale green plastic chairs, grabbing their hurried bites and stifling the yawns, than two sleight-of-hand virtuosos conjured a fleeting sense of madness and left them under a spell. When they try to reconstruct the day, they would be left with images and impressions, memories and moments. Of Jasprit Bumrah smiling wickedly; of Kuldeep Yadav blowing his cheeks after another almost-wicket ball; of the abraded red ball swerving and spinning, the bats quivering, of appeals cutting through the pre-wintry air and the cinematic wonderment that had seized them.

The most telling blows were delivered in the first session; Bumrah wrinkled out Ryan Rickleto

See Full Page