Written by Joe Man. Edited by Joe Murphy.
No one saw this coming from England. After the heartbreak of Lords, England got it together big time. One of the biggest concerns for England was the loss of Broad, Archer, Wood and Woakes. The new bowling attack however proved way too good for the Indians.
Jimmy Anderson especially was outstanding throughout the test, and had the ball swinging sideways. He deserved so much more than just the four wickets to show for his efforts. Moreover, Ollie Robinson continues to look better every game and deserved his man of the match award.
Being dismissed for 78 will have any side in trouble, but India you felt might claw their way back into it. However they where simply blown away. As happy as England were with their first innings bowling performance, it was in fact their batting that would have given them the most satisfaction. Hameed and Burns put on the highest opening partnership since 2016.
Test cricket is a different game if you’re batsmen coming in at 3, 4 or even 5, already have registered runs. I was a big fan of Dawid Malan getting another chance. He looks like a solid, technically sound player and should be given a good long run in the team.
Right now England suddenly have the best batsmen in the world. Joe Root has hit the form of his life and could be on track to score more runs in a year than any other batsmen in history. He only needs another 390 runs with potentially 10 innings to do it. Root just looks in a good place whether as captain or with the bat. He looks relaxed and is leading the team with an aggressive mind set. In contrast, India only ever looked in control for a short period on the third day. Pujara was batting well and finding some form. Both Kohli and Rohit Sharma stuck with him for a time and England must have started to think about what they might have to chase.
However as fast as Englands thoughts of chasing started, India were all out. Losing their last 8 wickets for just 63 runs in less than a session. One issue India have with their line up is that if the middle order fail, the lower order will go down super fast. The heroics of the Indian bowlers batting in the previous test was a distant memory.
England will have to make changes for the fourth test with Jos Butler leaving the group for the birth of his second child. That won’t be of much concern as Bairstow will fill the same roll with ease and Ollie Pope will likely return at 5. England face a much more challenging call with their bowling line up. Craig Overton bowled and batted excellently and helps make that tail longer.
However, now that Woakes and Wood are fit he may loose his place. Woakes is equally good with the bat and similar to Anderson can be very hard to play if it’s swinging. Don’t be too surprised if Sam Curran is the one to miss out.
This performance doesn’t make England a great team the same way it doesn’t now make India a bad one.
This series is starting to feel like whoever takes control early will be hard to beat.
India will look back to Adelaide against the Aussies 2020. That time they where bowled out for 36 and got hammered. The following week they returned with a crushing win. Make no mistake this Indian team is tough and won’t go down easy. They could well take this opportunity to finally play Ravi Ashwin who don’t forget is the number 2 ranked bowler in the world!!
England on the other hand will be truly tested if they loose a couple of early wickets.
Either way its turning into yet another fascinating test series that has many a twist and turn ahead!
Who doesn’t love test cricket?
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