Introduction
India won the third test against England with a collective brilliance of individuals and maintains the winning streak in this series.
Earlier the day 1, India won the toss and decided to bat. Sarfraz Khan and Dhuruv Jurel made their debut and Siraj and Jadeja returned to the eleven. England made one as Mark Wood replaced Shoaib Bashir. England’s skipper Ben Stokes played his 100th test which was a great feat to achieve.
Resilient Sharma and Resolute Jadeja, Rebuilded the Innings
Rohit and Jaiswal opened the innings for Team India. It was a bit shaky start as Mark Wood troubled both the batters. As a result, Jaiswal fell prey to Wood. He scored 10 and was caught by Root at slip. Then Gill came to the middle. He too fell for Wood without troubling the scoreboard and it became a double blow for India.
Then Rajat Patidar entered the middle. Even though wickets were falling on the other end, Rohit showed his resilience and stood in the middle. Rajat, in this innings too failed to make an impression and got out by a poor shot selection. India was in a troubled situation and the score was 33/3.
Then entered Jadeja and joined hands with the skipper in the middle. Rohit was dropped at 27 by Root which became the major reason for England’s defeat in this match. Both of them showed their skill and determination and stopped the wicket flow. India started to dominate for the first time in this test. Rohit who is infamous for his lofted pull shot, had to play those shots along the ground to score boundaries. This showed his game sense and grit. Jadeja on the other hand troubled the England bowlers. His promotion as the no.5 batter in this game helped a lot for India as it gave a left-right combination in the middle.
After a shared session in the morning, India started to dominate the 2nd session of the day 1. Rohit scored his fifty and the partnership between them reached the 100-run mark. England bowlers were tested by both of them, but all their efforts to get the wicket went in vain. Jadeja too scored his fifty on his home ground. Rohit started to play even more aggressively and inched very close to his century
India was in a good position when the tea was taken on day 1. Post-tea break, Both of them continued to trouble the English players. Stokes even changed the field for each and every ball to get a breakthrough. Rohit scored his brilliant century in 157 balls within a few minutes after the start of the 3rd session. Jadeja accompanied him well and he too was nearing his century.
India reached a 200-run mark, thanks to the skipper and Jadeja. They also managed to build a 200+ runs partnership. After a well-played 131, Rohit fell prey to Wood. But he dragged India from a troubled situation and put them in a comfortable position. He even surpassed the former skipper MS Dhoni by hitting 79 sixes in tests and secured a 2nd place trailing behind Virender Sehwag who had hit 91 sixes in tests.
Impressing Performance from the Debutant
Then the debutant Sarfraz Khan entered the middle and joined hands with Jadeja. He showed no nervousness and played without haste. His ability to attack the spinners was remarkable. He had a pattern in scoring. He hits a boundary and plays with soft hands to score a single/double. i.e. He took a single or double followed by every boundary. This scoring pattern not only kept the scoreboard ticking but also frustrated the opponents. He scored his 1st fifty in his debut match from just 48 balls. Sarfraz was banging the doors of the Indian team for an opportunity for more than 3 years. By delivering and showcasing his ability he told the selectors what a costly mistake it was for the nation.
On the other hand, Jadeja too inched toward his century. Both of them smashed England’s bowling with no regrets. Sarfraz was expected to hit a century even before Jadeja, as his scoring rate exceptionally increased. But unfortunately, Sarfraz had to depart to the pavilion as he got out by a run-out due to a mix-up with Jadeja. He played really well and missed out on a century opportunity in his debut. As it was the fag end of day 1, night-watchman Kuldeep came into the middle. Jadeja scored an excellent hundred eventually.
At the end of day 1, India was in the driver’s seat and scored 326/5. Majorly, damage control was done by Rohit and Jadeja, and a contributing knock from Sarfraz kept India on the top of day 1.
Healthy Contribution from the Lower-Order
Earlier the day 2, India started its innings with Jadeja and Kuldeep in the middle. Kuldeep, after a short span of stay departed to the pavilion, courtesy of Anderson. Jadeja after a fine 112 runs fell for Root’s spin and India was again in a troubled position earlier in the morning. Then Ashwin and another debutant Jurel joined hands in the middle. Both of them played the conventional test innings by only punishing the bad balls and not taking too many risks. Both Jurel and Ashwin were tested by the fiery bouncers bowled by Wood. But they refused to fall for them. They maintained their composure and added 77 runs together.
Ashwin fell for Rehan’s spin after scoring a handy 37 runs. Then Bumrah entered the middle and joined with Jurel. Not later than Ashwin’s dismissal the debutant Jurel too fell for Rehan’s spin and lost the opportunity to score a fifty in his debut. He scored a good 46 and helped India to reach the 400-run mark. For the last wicket, India added 30 runs because of the good cameo from Bumrah. Bumrah scored 26 runs which included 3 fours and a six. India ended their innings by scoring 445 as Rohit and Jadeja scored the major part of the runs.
Destructive Innings from Duckett
England started their innings with a reward of 5 runs for the penalty for running on the protected area of the pitch by Ashwin. Duckett and Crawley opened the innings for England. Duckett was a little shaky at the start. He didn’t off to a flyer start. But he regained his focus and started the Bazball approach. On the other end, Crawley just gave the strike to his partner who was in an exceptional touch. Duckett made the Indian bowlers feel the force of Bazball.
They added 89 runs for the first wicket, but the contribution of Crawley was only just 15 runs. He fell to Ashwin who was waiting to scalp his 500th test wicket. He was only the second bowler in India to go past 500 wickets.
Then Ollie Pope joined hands with Duckett in the middle. Pope too was a mere spectator as Duckett single-handedly demolished the Indian bowling attack. He scored runs as fast as he could. England’s run-rate never went under 5.50-6.00. Duckett made sure of that. He scored his century from only 88 balls, which is the 3rd fastest against India in India. Ollie Pope played some sweep, reverse sweep, and dil-scoop up against the keeper’s head, which even frustrated the Indian bowlers. They added 93 runs for the 2nd wicket and even this time a major part of the runs came from Duckett’s bat.
Then Siraj plotted the Pope’s wicket. He bowled a series of short deliveries and suddenly bowled a good length delivery and Pope fell for it. It was a brilliantly executed and well-planned delivery by Siraj. Pope went for a handy 39. At the end of day 2 England was 207/2. Centurion Duckett and Root were still in the crease. It was a dominating day by England and moved to day 3.
Siraj and Jaiswal Aid India Towards a Big Lead
Earlier the day 3, Ashwin withdrew from the match due to personal reasons and India entered the field with only 4 bowlers. A short of one bowler, but not short of self-belief. England resumed their innings. It wasn’t as dominating day as day 2 for England’s batters. Root well for Bumrah playing a poor shot at a crucial stage of play. He gifted his wicket by playing a reverse-sweep which was not needed in that situation. His poor series continued as he went for 18 runs. Then it was the Indian bowlers’ show all over. Kuldeep dismissed Bairstow for a duck by bowling a brilliant delivery.
Then skipper Stokes and Duckett joined hands. Duckett scored his 150. They added 35 runs for the 5th wicket and Duckett fell to Kuldeep by playing a poor shot. He went out after scoring an excellent 153 which includes 23 fours and 2 sixes. Then Foakes joined with Stokes. They added 39 runs for the 6th wicket as Stokes fell to Jadeja with a brilliant catch by Bumrah. Not later than a ball, Foakes too fell for the Indian bowlers’ brilliance. He fell for Siraj after scoring 13 runs. Then it was a matter of time to take the remaining wickets.
Siraj took care of the tail-enders and ended up taking a 4-fer for himself. Kuldeep and Jadeja took 2 wickets respectively and Ashwin and Bumrah took a wicket each. England finished with 319 as Ben Dukett was the high scorer with 153 runs. India took a lead of 126 runs, that too with only 4 bowlers.
Jaiswal and Gill’s Dominance Led to a Huge Lead
India started their innings with 126 runs lead. Rohit and Jaiswal opened the innings. Rohit started the innings with a couple of boundaries in the first over. Other than the first over, boundaries didn’t come at regular intervals. But singles and doubles made the scoreboard tick. They added 30 runs for the 1st wicket and Rohit well for Root’s spin. He played a full ball for a sweep and got out by LBW. Then Gill joined with Jaiswal in the middle. He showed a little inconsistency in the no.3 spot. But this time, he started positively.
Gill accompanied Jaiswal and looked good in his defence. Jaiswal scored his 50 off 80 balls and took the lead past 225 runs. After completing his 50 he suddenly shifted his gear. Then it was Jaiswal’s show all over. He showed no mercy to the bowlers and hit them ruthlessly. He showed the England bowler the taste of their own medicine. Gill too scored some boundaries, and the bowlers had no clue how to stop them.
Post-tea, Jaiswal’s pace of scoring runs just increased. He demolished the bowlers and hit them over the ropes. He hit his century in 122 balls and became the only batter to score two centuries in this series. After adding 155 runs in partnership with Gill he went to the pavilion by a retired hurt and Patidar joined Gill in the middle. It was not a remarkable series for Patidar since his debut. He got out in a similar fashion to the first innings by playing a short ball straight to the fielder.
Then the night-watchman Kuldeep joined with Gill. Now Gill took the responsibility and played really well. He scored his 2nd fifty of the series and the lead went past 320. At the end of day 3 India was in a good position of 224/2 and led by 326 runs with Gill and Kuldeep in the middle.
Jaiswal-Jadeja’s Stellar Performance Seals Victory
Earlier day 4, India resumed the innings. Ashwin was available for the day 4. As the day progressed Gill and Kuldeep frustrated the English players. Kuldeep played some good shots and his defence was solid. Gill inched closer to his century. But unfortunately, he got mixed up with Kuldeep and lost his wicket at 91, and missed the chance of scoring a century. He hit 9 fours and 2 sixes. Then Jaiswal returned to the crease. Not longer than Gill’s wicket Kuldeep too got out after a handy 27 of 91 balls. Then Sarfraz Khan joined the middle with Jaiswal. Both of them just competed with each other in demolishing the England bowlers. Jaiswal scored his 2nd double century back to back in this series and Sarfraz hit his 2nd fifty in his debut match. Literally, no one could stop them. After a mammoth 556-run lead, India declared their innings and set a target of 557 for England.
India’s Biggest Test Win by Runs
Then England started their innings. Ben Duckett and Crawley opened the innings for them. They were totally demoralized by the way the Indians played. The wickets were falling as cards. Duckett was sent to the pavilion by run-out by Siraj-Jurel combined excellence. Jurel shined in this match not only by bat but also by gloves.
Then pope came. He too failed too make an impression and fell for 3 runs to Jadeja. Crawley was sent to pavilion by Bumrah. The top batters in their team played a nothing shot and got out. Root, Bairstow, Stokes all three attempted to sweep the full ball and got out by LBW which is very poor form of cricket in the international standards.
Siraj and Ashwin got the wicket of Rehan and Hartley respectively. Jadeja took Foakes’s wicket. Mark Wood in the end hit some boundaries and became the top scorer of the England’s batting. By taking Wood’s wicket Jadeja scalped a 5-fer and aided India to win on the day 4.
Conclusion
This is India’s biggest victory in terms of runs. India should maintain this streak and try to win the series and to be in the race for WTC 2025. Next test starts on 23rd February. Let’s see, if England tries to turn the way series goes or not.
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