On balance, England will be pleased by their efforts today. If yesterday was a case of throwing away an advantage through carelessness, today was about grabbing opportunities when they arose. Good Test matches are about ebb and flow, and today was a perfect example, with India dominant for the first half, England fighting back superbly, only for India to put themselves in a good position by the close.
Any hopes England could extend their innings vanished the moment Adil Rashid was dismissed. 283 all out is enough to be in the game, but no more than that. All those saying that the toss determined the outcome of the previous match forgot to mention that the toss only becomes critical if a team takes advantage of it. England didn’t, and ended up on the backfoot as a result.
With India 148-2 in reply, and Pujara and Kohli well set, it appeared that England were about to pay the price for their profligacy. A brilliant catch by Woakes to dismiss Pujara from a Rashid long hop, a timely googly from the same bowler to dismiss the luckless Rahane for a globe, and a magnificent piece of fielding by Jos Buttler to remove Nair and England were right back in it, indeed they were if anything on top and hopeful of a surprising first innings lead.
That really proved to be as good as it got though. Removing Kohli was a bonus, but Ashwin and Jadeja’s unbroken 67 run stand has got the hosts within 12 of England, and with two such dangerous players in, it could yet be an uphill task from here.
Throughout this series England have been playing catch up cricket, clawing their way back into the game by undoing the self-inflicted damage of the day before. Today was no different, for the pitch looks good, and Ashwin in particular looked in trouble whatever.
Yet there is an opportunity here. If England can get reasonably quick wickets and face no more than a small deficit, then if they bat well second time around – and they need to bat far, far better than they have so far – then there is ample time to bat at their leisure, wait for the pitch to deteriorate and get themselves into a strong position. It is all ifs. India will feel they are capable of a decent lead and bowling England out cheaply, and it’s hard to disagree that is a serious possibility.
But the point is that England have a chance of winning this Test. It’s up to them whether they take it, but there should be no hard luck stories or complaints about getting a raw deal. England have had the advantage here; so far they haven’t made use of it. So far.
A decent day today for the visitors. A decent one tomorrow will do nicely.
Day three comments below
Being Outside Cricket 
Stocks manages to take twelve paragraphs before mentioning the day’s leading bowler:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/india-vs-england-third-test-report-day-two-ben-stoke-virat-kohli-a7441981.html
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And, it remains a useless article.
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Shiny Toy doing a nice 360 degree u-turn. Only last week he was too fragile to play Test Cricket – http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38122497
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If the pundits would have to pay their publishers 1000 Pounds whenever they changed their minds, got facts blatantly wrong, or were proven wrong by subsequent events, Shiny Toy would have to file for bankruptcy on a weekly basis.
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Please excuse my ignorance, but I assume “shiny toy” refers to Vaughan. Would someone be kind enough to explain the connection?
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His child like tendency to think everything new and wonderful is the greatest, and soon getting bored with it if it isn’t. Also, tendency to bandwagon. If someone else thinks something is great, he will too and make it look like he’s the leader, not follower.
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It is not ignorance. Being Outside Cricket has a glossary. And it is in need of an update, as the reference to Vaughan is not in there. Similarly with the Plagiarist (Ed Smith, who was caught plagiarising).
As for the reference to Shiny Toy, I hope someone else can chime in.
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You giving me an order, D?
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Thanks, guys, appreciate you taking the time to explain!
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Is there a worse coverage of day 2 than at Telegraph by Berry and Tyers?
Absolute rubbish.
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Tipped off by Ali Martin’s article on Rashid, here’s the link to the India U19 of England a decade ago where a few of today’s performers came up against each other:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/series/238313.html
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Ashwin and Stokes is being built up in the UK press as the battle of the all rounders, and Bob Willis being disparaging of Ashwin’s batting. I make it as Ashwin being the more valuable so far. An Illingworth style all rounder but with more incisive off-line. His batting has no frills but it seems to be functional and he tends not to play with extravagance
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Willis isn’t the only one – this one’s so certain he gets the caps lock on:
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I wonder if he actually took a look at their respective records before feeling the urge to respond. Irrespective of what grounds he has scored his runs, Ash does average more than Ali at this point. Both have played mostly at similar positions. Both are used primarily as off spinners. Any comparisons based on numbers alone should put Ash ahead of Ali. Aesthetically, I could argue both are similar, even if Ali has better pedigree in first class.
From the perspective of team combination and their respective impact on games, I wonder if @theANALyst feels the same because clearly, there’s gulf between those numbers.
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I can do that too:
sorry Hughes is NOT a bigger influence on English cricket than Stokes or Booth
Howzat?
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And in case you thought this was a one-off contribution to the Moeen Ali Can Do No Wrong Society, check out this thread:
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He only had 13 overs because he didn’t bowl well.
He was given the ball first today – and hauled off after two overs he was so unthreatening. Not “odd” at all.
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And Bob Willis is not able to admit that his views of Rashid were mistaken. He is a slightly less stupid version of Dominic Cork! PBH May made him captain!
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I am also thinking that the Sky boys do not know the difference between a googly and a flipper. Rahane was a flipper. I think Pujara also got a flipper.
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For off – line, please read off – spin. The perils of autocorrect
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England opened the bowling with Woakes and Moeen. That Moeen experiment was shortlived, and lasted just 2 overs, to be replaced by Anderson.
Thus far the Indian batsmen have looked quite comfortable (especially in the first 6 overs of the day). Then a few edges (one a bat-pad edge) fell well short of the fielders.
India just brought the 300 up; England need a breakthrough desperately – Jayant Yadav is also quite a decent bat, and may potentially also contribute to increase India’s lead significantly.
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Second bowling change of the day, Stokes replaces Woakes. In his first over, he gets Ashwin to edge one to point for 72 (highest score in the Indian innings).
Still a very valuable 97-run partnership, and Jadeja is still there on 46.
301/7, game still on.
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“I think Rashid is a worrier…. one long hop and he gets the yips”. Hussain at 5.10 am.
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Let me fix that: “Cook is a worrier … one long hop and there are four men on the boundary.”
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Hussain’s just launched a PPB for the Cook captaincy party:
“He’s really changed as this team’s changed… you used to look out there and wonder who is the captain?… With this young team there’s no doubt who’s in charge”.
Silence from the other comms. Stokes promptly changes his bowling strategy unilaterally.
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Yadav has a FC double hundred and Jadeja has triples against his name so they can bat and can handle themselves. The pitch hasn’t yet broken down and there’s been nothing from bowlers yet to suggest that they are troubling any batsman. This could continue for a while.
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Exactly. Both these batsmen can bat long innings – you don’t get double or triple hundreds if you don’t have a lot of stamina. And they certainly won’t mind batting till tea, certainly not if they’re batting at a very healthy 3.4 runs / over, as they’re doing now.
Lead is already 63, and we’re just 15 minutes from lunch now.
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That was meant as a reply to Amit Garg. Forgot to add that Ashwin’s innings was an absolute gem – as it looks like it will be the difference between England being in command, and India being in command after the first innings.
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Barring 2 balls – one from Rashid that spun quite a bit, and one from batty to Yadav that kept low, the session has been uneventful, and the kind India could have only hoped for.
What would be the pundit’s views? Gavaskar expected it to turn on day 1 – it hasn’t done much till midway of the game.
With 83 runs in the session, and number 8/9 not looking in any trouble whatsoever through their 50 run partnership, this is looking like a good recovery for India.
If these two can continue till tea, precious 70/80 runs would’ve been added to the 71 run lead and would make England’s job tougher.
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354/7 at lunch. With R. Ashwin the sole batsman to lose his wicket. Not the session England had hoped for to say the least.
Also, the Indian lower order will probably contribute more runs than the top 6. A situation England should be fairly familiar with themselves.
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30 overs, 83/1 in the first session.
The second session has been the best for batting in the match so far (2/203 on the first two days).
Batty’s looked the most challenging bowler when he finally got a go. Opening the bowling with Woakes and Ali was a nonsense.
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Batty had a horror first 3 overs (3-0-22-0), but after that he has done reasonably well. Might also have to do with the fact that he was not involved in the game for 47 overs – which is a tad on the long side – I could have understood it a bit better if it was Ansari, since he is more a batsman who bowls.
But a specialist spinner just bowling 8 overs out of 114 in India? It is not like Anderson and Woakes have carved the Indians up either (41-9-117-0).
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Batty got his line wrong in that first spell (too leg-side) but he also had a hopeless field set.
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Yep, it was ridiculous that he had to wait until that long to get a bowl. I don’t think they have handled either Batty or Ali well, particularly in the light of Woakes looking toothless. Typically predictable from Nasser to say how it is ‘Cook’s team’. With that and memories of his ‘inner steel’ as England got battered 5-0 it almost seems as if sections of the media like celebrating incompetence.
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England have never won a Test in India without a first innings’ lead.
The lowest lead was 27 in ’72/73. The others have been (in ascending order) 54, 82, 86, 98, 111, 121, 166, 190, 207, 219, 259 and 380.
England have never won a Test in SL without a first innings’ lead either so the only Tests in Asia England have won without a first innings’ lead are the two in Pakistan.
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Hameed not been fielding but they’ve just shown film of him batting in the nets and he can open as it was an external injury.
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This shows why we were right to be so dubious about England’s first innings performance. This is not a completely flat deck but one that rewards application and diligence when batting. It’s hard to imagine that they that came into this game either mentally prepared to graft if needed or with a game plan outside of playing as if it is an ODI. I can’t think of a more damning indictment of the England set-up. Maybe they just assumed that spinning wickets would provide the excuse for failure? It’s only because of the equal lack of diligence from the Indian top order that they will have to bat again.
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Some of this bowling by England reminds me of the latter day ‘bowling dry’ of the Flower era, with the exception of the absence of an overweight Bresnan and his conspicuously absent ‘heavy ball’.
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Bowling dry is a default for England when things don’t go their way. It does come off sometimes.
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Jadeja gone! Now can India score a few more? and quickly pls.
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Jadeja was scoring at a decent rate. Now it is a real crawl.
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Combined bowling figures of bowlers who aren’t Rashid or Stokes: 0/206. Not heard and not expecting to hear any adverse comment about any of them (except possibly Batty). All they keep saying is how good the pitch is. We’ll see.
Beefy has also just claimed England won’t be worried about the deficit. It was 90 at the time. They’ll be worried when it’s 140 he reckoned. We’ll see about that too.
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116 already in the bag. a few lusty blows from the tail might just get then over the 140.
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Rashid has a four-for and has got Umesh twice this series. Umesh on strike. Cook takes Rashid off and puts Ali on (who’s promptly hit for six).
Even Hussain’s had enough.
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Now he’s blaming Rashid for letting himself being taken off.
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He’s just not a “LEADER”, is he?
I wonder if Nasser would have made the top three worst commentators if the vote were taken now. I’m cringing at this stuff.
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At the rate Nasser is declining he might take all three top three spots. Horrendous.
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Wonder the odds on India batting again? The game is, in my view, deceptively close due to India’s brain fart 30 minutes after lunch on day two. Otherwise they have dominated almost every session. AN England collapse could be the result from this sustained pressure.
I haven’t seen much discussion about why India did not go with the very spin friendly tracks seen in recent series. Maybe they felt our spinners, while not consistent, offered far more threat than this of SA or NZ? Either way, they have produced balanced wickets that have nevertheless given them a platform to dominate England. For a team supposedly made up of IPL/T20 rock stars they are showing welcome resilience and commitment to Test cricket it seems to me.
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Yeah, the game starts to remind me of the first Test between South Africa and England in 2012. After the South Africans had put on 637/2d, the commentators were talking about how easy batting was. It just took one session (102/4 in the evening session of Day 4) to point out that they were wrong.
Of course there are many dissimilarities, but I certainly would not be surprised if England barely make India bat again.
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“It just took one session (102/4 in the evening session of Day 4) to point out that they were wrong.”
Or, in one special case, that the South Africans had been lucky with the weather, and there was no fault attached to bowlers who toiled through 186.2 overs for 636-1 (and that bowled off an inside edge and pad).
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Ball just bobbed out of the hands of steel? another drop in the game!
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Hameed opening and not in his whites.
Hussain’s report earlier on his injury has been about as insightful as the rest of the commentary. Atherton pointed out that he’d had three nets today which seemed odd if everything was okay. All Hussain kept saying was he’s fine, he’s in no pain.
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Should’ve have read “Hameed not opening” of course.
Hussain’s added helpfully he doesn’t know if Hameed’s had a scan.
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Stroppy and wrong-headed from Dan Lucas of the Guardian OBO confirming his potential as the new Selvey.
For example replying to criticism of England’s bowling, ” there is precisely naff all in this pitch, so it’s a case of bowling dry and preventing India from racking up masses of runs quickly. It’s boring, yes, but needs must on this road”.
Shami has just nearly torpedoed Root with a grubber – which he can do because he’s bwoling at the stumps, not hiding it two feet outside off.
And Lucas is plain wrong to say Hameed isn’t batting because he was off the field.
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“Fucking hell, have I filed to The Canary by mistake.”
That’s his epitaph for me. Actually more reminiscent of ECB’s Andy Wilson (post-Moores press conference especially) than anyone, I thought.
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Such a “road” that Cook’s just been bowled. On its own, it’ll look like he’s just been bowled through the gate by a straight one but he’d been in a lot of trouble beforehand to balls that were turning (including surviving two LBWs on DRS).
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Think Dan might want that comment back?
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Well, “never correct, never explain, never apologise” has been the house motto for some time….
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Something which has puzzled me for years, and I hope some luminary can explain it to me?
When England were bowling there was no spin, no turn, no bounce, dead as a dodo.
When England go into bat half an hour later every ball is a hand grenade on a minefield
Is it us?
As I write, Cook gone after a short, but torturous innings!
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Cook bowled through the gate for the second time this series, surely a cardinal sin for an opener. What will fanboy Hussain say?
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Not sure about that fanboy, but here’s another to give you some idea:
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And if you are in with the in crowd excuses get made.
Imagine his reaction if a certain other flamboyant player did that. It’s tedious pointing this out but you have to.
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India have applied pressure through the two (not one) quality spinners. They’ve kept England dry by not bowling dry but by bowling to the stumps and getting some purchase from the wicket. Wicket is beginning to turn now. Let the mind games begin!
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In the film The Invasion of the body snatchers people are replaced by pod people. They look the same, and sound the same, but are in effect alien beings. This seems to be what has happened to the English cricket media. In particular Nasser Hussien.
He looks like Nasser, sounds like Nasser, but is now talking complete and utter bollocks!
Can you imagine if a bowler under his captaincy had decided to tell him that “no” he wasn’t coming off, and would be staying on? Yea right, because Naz was such a gentle, non confrontational individual.
They are getting desperate on the Verdict now. The other day they had resorted to having a penalty shoot out with Nass and Atherton (The Mike and Bernnie Winters of cricket commentary) taking penalties. He thinks he’s Wayne Rooney now. I’m telling you he has become a pod person.
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Is it perhaps time to re-think this “master player of spin” nonsense? Cook has looked all at sea for this entire tour. He just missed a straight ball from Ashwin.
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It’s the third time in four Tests that Cook has had a reprieve on a DRS LBW and looked all at sea afterwards (it happened in Dhaka and in Visag as well). Rather than such an incident being a springboard for the innings, Cook seems to become ultra-passive and full of self-doubt.
That wouldn’t be so bad if we hadn’t been told again and again that he’s the mentally-strongest England cricketer ever. Even today Hussain had called him “mentally perfect”.
Also a quick word for Jadeja – he may not have taken a wicket but the pressure he has exerted has been immense.
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I see its 64/2 (Ali the other one gone).
Barston is in at 4. At least England are half way to making India at least pick up a bat again…
I’m guessing it will be score board pressure that has weighed England down.
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Bloody auto correct
Bairstow
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He’s gone now anyway…
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Bairstow hadn’t looked in much trouble and was a bit unfortunate to edge one that kept low.
Superb catch by Patel – better than most diving efforts that, I reckon.
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As you know Simon, a bugbear of mine is the cluelessness of commentators about wicketkeeping. That was a fabulous catch, not a “good” one as they mildly stated on comms. I’ll be talking about that later.
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Now Stokes gone lbw to Ashwin to an excellent review by India.
78/4 – the deficit is still 56.
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*wipes a crocodile tear from his eye*
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I notice the whole narrative on the importance of the toss has vanished like snow in the sun. Remember the last test? “Win the toss win the match.” Funny, the pundits have dropped that one. *** SILENCE ***
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Maybe it was always like this and we needed L’Affaire KP for us to notice? Discuss.
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And i cannot stop laughing about it. Must be running out of excuses for the team showing.
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Today’s MSM narrative will be all around a pitch that is suddenly behaving like a spitting cobra and full of demons. Oh, and they will certainly give Kohli’s send off to Stokes more airtime than Cook or anyone else that failed.
On that note, are we allowed to ask what Mo’s role really is? He has 24 runs in 4 innings outside of the century on a road. If he was brought as batting insurance, he hasn’t been worth it in the series yet. The shot to get out today was a daft one, even if you give Ashwin the credit for beating him in flight and with dip.
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So, Vaughan has already taken shots at Moeen. He also adds that “the gulf between sides came through”. Didn’t these commentators just say at the end of previous game that there’s not much to differentiate between the two sides and that India’s win was all down to the toss?
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The problem with Moeen is that his batting prowess increases the lower down the order he goes. Put him at 2,3, or 4 and he is wasted. He had a horrendous time opening in the UAE as well, averaging just 14 in six innings.
Another problem is now that Cook is starting to trust Rashid more, that Moeen hardly gets a bowl. In itself not much of a problem, but that begs the question: is Moeen really one of the six best batsmen England have? The answer to that is probably no.
Honestly, if Rashid has a few good knocks this series, and Moeen’s form remains iffy at best, I can foresee Moeen being dropped and Rashid being retained, even in England …
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I can see that happening too, but more if Rashid keeps taking wickets while not conceding too many runs. England’s default spin choices seem to be those that are considered safe and not necessarily wicket taking.
I think the change in batting order was partly responsible for the brain fart today. I can’t quite understand the objective. If they wanted to score at a good clip before the wicket started breaking up, then Buttler would have been a better choice to send up. If they were looking to break the spinners momentum by keeping the right/left combo, then surely, Ali should’ve taken chance against Jadeja who spins into a leftie and not Ashwin. Either ways, the game plan, if there was one, looked muddled. Zero marks to them all for Execution today.
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Stat question if anyone knows or can work it out (I can’t find a way to do it on statsguru):
What’s the largest first innings’ deficit a visiting team has conceded in India and gone on to win the Test?
(I thought I heard a fleeting mention that no visiting team had won from the deficit England have conceded here but I’m not sure I heard it right – and they didn’t come back to discuss it any further).
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Cricinfo commentary put it at 64 i think.
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65, Bob Simpson’s Australia. Way back in the day.
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http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/62952.html
And the scorecard for the people who might be wondering.
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