When Joe Root got out playing that trademark scoop, 20 minutes into the day’s play, to Jasprit Bumrah, on the third morning, triggering a collapse of eight wickets for 95 in 31.2 overs, it was probably necessary to let reality impinge a little on England’s revolutionary approach.
On a chastening day three at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, if England thought it could blur the line between positivity and recklessness with impunity, it was wrong.
Its fortunes spiralled from great to bad to worse in the span of three sessions as India racked up a mammoth lead of 322 for two wickets at Stumps.
IND vs ENG Highlights, 3rd Test
Yashasvi Jaiswal led the assault once the ball got older with a third Test hundred and second in as many games, off 122 balls. His last 65 runs, en route to the ton, came off just 49 balls. He retired hurt for 104 due to a back issue.
Shubman Gill played the perfect foil to Jaiswal and is unbeaten on 65.
India did not seem in a big hurry at first, with a lead of 126 swelling to 170 by Tea for the loss of skipper Rohit Sharma.
Rohit was off the blocks briskly, but Jaiswal had an uncharacteristically sedate start. Given his team was in a three-figure deficit for the third time this series, even Ben Stokes was in two minds about setting ultra-aggressive fields.
But once Rohit was given out lbw off Root, on review, the complexion seemed to change. Rohit wound up for a big sweep to a full ball, missed, and was given not out. Stokes, who had burned one review by now, decided to go upstairs anyway and was vindicated on this occasion.
FULL SCORECARD | India vs England, Third Test Day 3
Meanwhile, Gill got off the pair by whipping Root over midwicket for four.
A slip was the only close catcher England had for Tom Hartley at the start of the third session, which indicated one of two things: either the ball was not doing much off the pitch or Hartley was unable to extract help.
Whatever the case, Jaiswal and Gill were able to manoeuvre the ball in the gaps for twos and ones, with the occasional hit to the fence.
With the ball now starting to reverse-swing, Mark Wood tried to force Gill into playing around his front pad, but without rewards. James Anderson was summoned before long and duly despatched to the fence by Gill, who employed a fierce cut shot off the second ball he faced.
Anderson had a slip, a short midwicket, and a silly mid-on for Gill and bowled metronomic lines and lengths but couldn’t muster too much movement to bother him.
The field placements got increasingly funkier as a seemingly weary Anderson bowled to Jaiswal with a jam-packed leg-side field, only to see the elegant left-hander thwack three consecutive boundaries and move to 49.
He reached his fifty with a six off Hartley in the next over. By now, the wheels were off England’s attack, but it would perhaps be too harsh to criticise the bowling beyond a point here since England didn’t bat long enough to give its bowlers appropriate rest.
Earlier, resuming on 207 for two, Root’s poor form continued. He is finding ways to get out at the most inconvenient times. Shortly after his wicket, Jonny Bairstow decided to review what looked like an obvious lbw decision. Kuldeep Yadav bowled a full delivery that turned sharply and hit Bairstow in front of off-stump. Bairstow did not even wait for the three reds to flash on the big screen.
Having lost two partners in the space of just six balls, Ben Duckett suddenly had a rebuilding job on his hands. It also meant Bumrah now had a pair of left-handed batters to target from around the stumps.
Two edgy boundaries, one each off the bat of Stokes and Duckett, and a good sprinkling of plays and misses encouraged Rohit to keep Bumrah on a little longer than he would normally have.
The absence of Ashwin, who pulled out of the Test match due to a personal emergency, played a role as well.
After the drinks break, Stokes welcomed Mohammed Siraj into the attack with a brace of boundaries. Duckett, at the other end, was watchful by his standards, but ultimately got suckered into providing India with the window of opportunity it had been waiting for.
The whole of Day 2, the Indian spinners were guilty of neither trying to get Duckett to sweep from the rough nor bowling a wider line, knowing fully well he does not like leaving too many balls. Kuldeep finally bowled one short and wide, a long hop really, and Duckett, having batted magnificently for his 153, smashed it straight into the cover fielder’s hands.
Kuldeep bowled beautifully in the morning, getting turn and bounce from the rough while cleverly varying his pace. He bowled 12 overs unchanged from one end and picked up two for just 35, asking questions of Stokes and Ben Foakes - occasionally the keeper, Dhruv Jurel as well. Yesterday’s mauling seemed like a far cry.
Having dug in till Lunch, Stokes tried to up the ante but was caught in the deep off Ravindra Jadeja for 41; his 500th First-Class victim. Foakes was then undone by Siraj’s change of pace next ball, and he chipped it straight to mid-on for 13. The credit must go to all four Indian bowlers too, who were brilliant, and Rohit for being imaginative with his field placements.
Siraj finished with a four-for as England was bowled out for 314, 126 adrift of India’s first-innings score.
There is very little doubt that England will walk out to bat in the fourth innings believing it can chase down anything, the conditions be damned.
For now, let’s say India played the circumstances, surface and the ball, and England flirted with the idea of Bazball. What triumphs in the end remains to be seen.
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