Like the first reddening leaves of autumn tell the season, a rollicking 172-run partnership off just 26.2 overs between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan foretold the extended nightmare this dreadful third Test was about to turn into for England. Jaiswal finished unbeaten on 214 from 236 balls—his second double hundred in as many Tests — with 12 sixes, the joint-most in a Test innings, and Sarfaraz on 68 off 72 as India set England a target of 557 on day four at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Sunday.
By the time Rohit Sharma declared on 430 for four — the first team to declare against England in the McCullum-Stokes era — the three Lions looked tactically and emotionally spent; their roars muted.
In response, England was bowled out for 122, with Ravindra Jadeja snapping up a five-for to go with his first-innings century as India went 2-1 up in the five-match series with a 434-run win in four days, its biggest victory by runs and England’s second-biggest defeat.
The signs were there. Opener Ben Duckett, the centurion from the last innings, was run out after a mix-up, while Zak Crawley was lbw to Jasprit Bumrah. And when Ben Stokes missed the sweep to a straight ball from Kuldeep Yadav and was adjudged lbw, his team’s fate was sealed. The returning R. Ashwin further buoyed the host side after flying home for a personal emergency on the 16th and rejoining the team today.
HIGHLIGHTS - INDIA vs ENGLAND
The downward spiral began 15 minutes after Lunch, masked as a grotesque humiliation of one of Test cricket’s greatest fast bowlers, closing in on 700 victims. James Anderson started on a defensive note, bowling a wide line to Jaiswal with seven of nine fielders stationed on the off side. It turned out that’s all the invitation Jaiswal needed as he thumped three consecutive sixes— over fine leg, cover, and straight—with 21 coming off the over. It was Anderson’s most expensive over in Test cricket since 2013!
Sarfaraz joined in on the fun too, thwacking the 41-year-old over square leg for four to bring up the 100 stand off just 88 balls. Jimmy was promptly spared further hurt and taken off the attack after conceding 37 in three overs.
A while later, Sarfaraz reached his second fifty on debut, off 65 balls, and his Mumbai teammate, Jaiswal, equalled Wasim Akram’s Test record of most sixes in an innings with two back-to-back maximums off Joe Root.
Earlier, Sarfaraz had channelled the frustration of being run out for 62 in the first innings into an emphatic destruction of English spinners, catapulting the lead past 400. Jaiswal also came off the bench, having retired hurt yesterday for 104, and pounded a weary attack into submission, treating the juicy half-volleys and full tosses with the disdain they deserved.
Along the way, Root bowled his 100th over of the series - the previous highest was 63 against Pakistan in 2023 - more than his combined total with the bat over three Tests! He had earlier hurt his spinning finger while catching Kuldeep at slip, perhaps accentuating the poor lines and lengths he was bowling. India scored 118 runs in the first session for the loss of two wickets.
In the morning, India resumed on 196-2, with a lead of 322. England asked very few questions, akin to a cozy chat instead of an uncomfortable inquisition. Stokes’s dilemma this morning was whether to contain India’s rapid-fire scoring with defensive fields or to try and bowl them out. Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley opened the bowling with Anderson. The field was understandably spread out for Shubman Gill, who resumed on 65, allowing him to reduce the dot-ball percentage without taking unnecessary risks.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep, the nightwatchman, had to contend with slightly more attacking fields. He responded by stepping down the pitch and launching Hartley over long-on for the first six of his international career. He followed it up with a boundary in front of square, off a rank log hop from the same bowler, as India’s lead inched towards 350. There was a sense of disarray and weariness about the English attack, emanating from operating on just 71.1 overs’ of rest at a sun-soaked venue, after having been on the field for 130.5 overs previously.
Kuldeep brought up the fifty partnership by steering Mark Wood past the solitary slip for four before a communication breakdown with Gill resulted in the latter being run-out for 91. Kuldeep had smacked the ball to Stokes at mid-on and called for a single before changing his mind and sending his partner back. Gill was well short, with Hartley taking down the stumps.
Stokes was only being aggressive with his reviews, recklessly at that, which cost them a wicket. England sent an lbw appeal upstairs when it seemed obvious that Kuldeep had inside-edged it. Moments later, Hartley trapped Kuldeep sweeping, and the umpire said no. But with just one review left and plenty of Indian batting still to come, Stokes decided against using the remaining review. Much to their chagrin, though, the replays showed three reds on ball tracking! But little did England know then that things were just starting to get uglier for it.
The bitter irony at the end of it all was England lost this Test largely on its terms, ceding the advantage in spectacularly frustrating fashion on the third day - much like India did in Hyderabad. The short turnaround between the third and fourth Test, which gets underway on February 23, probably does not help its case either. Over to Ranchi.
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