India v England: third Test, day three – as it happened | England in India 2024

Ali Martin has filed his report from Rajkot, which is my cue to go out for some fresh air. It was a day when India’s young stars shone and England’s hopes turned to dust. Or they would have if Ben Stokes hadn’t imprinted his team with his own self-belief. Thanks for your company and correspondence: the OBO will be back in the morning, ready for the 4am GMT start. Meanwhile, here’s Ali and Jim:

Here’s Ben Duckett, talking to Graeme Swann. It’s a Northants-Notts stitch-up!

“You’ve got to give credit to the way they played this evening,” Duckett says. “They gave us nothing this morning. We were attacking like we were yesterday, it just didn’t work.”

He defends Joe Root, who got out to a ramp shot for the second time in his Test career. “Rooty’s a freak, he plays shots that a lot of us can’t do… Rooty plays that shot so well. In my eyes it’s just like playing a drive and nicking off.”

This game is not out of reach, Swann suggests. “No, 100 per cent not. Even sending in a nightwatchman when you’re 330 ahead shows that they’re slightly wary of us. We’re going continue the way that we play. If we get two or three blokes getting in on that pitch, scoring quickly, you never know what can happen.” The optimism is admirable. The problem today wasn’t that England were aggressive: it was that they collapsed, just as they often did in the dull old days.

“Humble Aussie?” says Brendan Murphy. “Dumb Aussie more like. England were not in a winning position – they were over 200 behind at start of play.” True, but they had won the second day, almost as conclusively as India have now won the third.

And here is our Aussie, sounding genuinely humble this time. “Apologies Tim,” he writes, “My name is Finn. If I’m going to give an entire country a bit of cheek, I should, at the very least, give my first name.

“PS Hartley is a good find. I hope he makes it to our shores next year.”

“England are right back in this,” says Tom van der Gucht. “One more wicket now and they are in with a sniff of a hint of a chance. I’m pretty confident that after a good night’s sleep and a decent portion of Weetabix in the morning, England will be up and at ’em! When I tune in around 6am, England will be batting again, you mark my words, and Duckett will be biffing his way towards a second century in the match.” Of course.

The day belongs to Yashasvi Jaiswal. And so does the series: he has made 80 and 15, 209 and 17, and now 10 and 104 retired hurt. That’s 435 runs already, which is 150 more than the next man (Duckett). Jaiswal, who was brutal for a brief spell after tea, may even feel that his back injury was a price worth paying.

On the predictor at CricViz, India are now given a 96pc chance of a win. England have 4, with no possibility at all, apparently, for the draw.

Stumps! It’s India’s day as England implode

50th over: India 195-2 (Gill 64, Kuldeep 3) Kuldeep sees out a maiden from Hartley, just, though he flirts with danger by shouldering arms to a ball turning in from the rough outside off. England appeal for LBW – not given. Stokes decides against a review, perhaps because it’s just the nightwatchman. HawkEye shows that the ball would have missed the leg bail by a whisker.

49th over: India 195-2 (Gill 64, Kuldeep 3) Gill is happy to take a single off Rehan and leave the stage to Kuldeep, who springs a surprise with square drive for three.

“And greetings England, saviours of cricket,” writes a reader who wishes to remain anonymous. Not something we encourage but this is worth a read. “Normally, I would not bother to watch England unless they were trying to regain the Ashes after God knows how many years (actually I do know how many years it has been).

“But, such is their quiet smugness, I really have enjoyed tuning in to watch their hubris cause them to play themselves out of a winning position in a little under six hours. True, I am watching. Perhaps they really will save Test cricket. Love, a humble Aussie.” A humble brag?

48th over: India 191-2 (Gill 63, Kuldeep 0) So now we do have the nightwatchman. And yet another wicket for Tom Hartley, England’s main weapon in this series. Before making the breakthrough, Hartley beat Gill with a ball that turned so much, it went straight to Root at slip.

Rajat Patidar will be kicking himself. He got a long hop from Hartley and slapped it to midwicket. To be fair, it may have kept a bit low.

Wicket! Patidar c Rehan b Hartley 0 (India 191-2)

47th over: India 190-1 (Gill 62, Patidar 0) Just a single off Rehan. Graeme Swann, the only contrarian in the commentary box, is saying it might be only seven more wickets that England need here, with Jaiswal on the treatment table and Ashwin on compassionate leave. “Better and better for England!” Up to a point, Lord Copper.

46th over: India 189-1 (Gill 61, Patidar 0) Hartley keeps it simple to the new batter, Patidar, and picks up a maiden. It’s the first one in this innings from a spinner whose name is not Root.

45th over: India 189-1 (Gill 61, Patidar 0) With six overs left today, India perhaps thought about a nightwatchman before realising that they hardly need to worry here. They’ve seen off Mark Wood, who gives way to Rehan. Gill, now the main man, waits for the bad ball and eases it through the covers for four.

Jaiswal retires hurt for 104! (India 185-1)

44th over: India 184-1 (Jaiswal 104, Gill 57) Jaiswal is still looking pained. He should surely go off: his job is done.

“Far be it from me,” says Rudrarpan Chatterjee, “to interrupt a visiting team committing harakiri, but I do feel Root having to bowl 20 overs each innings is taking away from his batting massively. Even if it doesn’t dim the skill, your reflexes are bound to be a little bit slower if your muscles are swimming in lactic acid.”

43rd over: India 184-1 (Jaiswal 104, Gill 56) Wood continues, so Jaiswal knows the next ball will be a short one. He’s ready for it with a deflection that gets him off strike. Gill takes centre-stage, flicking Wood for six to reach 50 off 98 balls. He’s been very measured, but now he looks to break loose, adding a cut for four, then mistiming a pull and picking up a single. The cut takes the partnership past 150, and the lead is 310. These two have all but batted England out of the game.

Jaiswal injured

42nd over: India 172-1 (Jaiswal 103, Gill 45) Hartley, replacing Root, aims for the rough and beats Jaiswal with a shooter. Maybe the pitch isn’t so flat after all: England are going to have a tough time chasing something beginning with a 4.

41st over: India 171-1 (Jaiswal 102, Gill 45) Wood is still racing in. He’s been one of England’s two stars in this Test, second only to Duckett: taking four wickets, pulling off a fine run-out, left high and dry on 4 not out when he looked like producing one of his knockabout 30s. But it’s not happening for him in this innings. For all Stokes’s creativity, this attack is just too bland on a flat track.

40th over: India 168-1 (Jaiswal 100, Gill 44) Shubman Gill, who’s been on second fiddle, suddenly plays a solo, lofting Root for six and adding two tucks off the hips for two. The partnership has somehow swollen to 139.

39th over: India 158-1 (Jaiswal 100, Gill 34) The crowd greet the hundred as they always do, with childlike delight.

A hundred to Jaiswal!

38th over: India 149-1 (Jaiswal 94, Gill 30) Root again does well in a supporting role, restricting Jaiswal to a lofted paddle for two. By hook or by crook, Stokes has got the run rate down again – India have added only 11 off the past six overs.

37th over: India 146-1 (Jaiswal 92, Gill 30) Yes, it’s Wood, and it’s bodyline. No slips, no short leg, three men out for the hook, and three in the ring on the leg side for the mis-hook. Jaiswal, refusing to take the bait, plays with a straight bat in front of his nose. Stokes responds by bringing in a short leg. Jaiswal steps away to leg, like a tailender, but can’t get his cut past the one fielder on the off side. It’s a good contest, not so much between bat and ball as between bat and brain – the ideas always brewing in the head of Ben Stokes.

36th over: India 144-1 (Jaiswal 91, Gill 29) Root continues and finally takes Graeme Swann’s advice from about two hours ago by going over the wicket to the right-hander. But only for three balls, for some reason – “those three balls were very good,” says Swann. Again there’s a single for each batter, and now it looks as if Mark Wood is coming back.

Drinks: England in dire straits

34th over: India 140-1 (Jaiswal 89, Gill 27) England sorely need a moment of calm. Root, in his role as the senior spinner, provides it with an over that goes for just two singles.

33rd over: India 138-1 (Jaiswal 88, Gill 26) India’s 12th man is in the middle again, bringing fresh gloves and perhaps some instructions from Rahul Dravid. To go by what happens next, he’s saying “try the reverse sweep”. Jaiswal, facing Rehan, swaps his hands round and helps himself to two more fours.

“Is it too soon,” asks Gary Naylor, “to speak of Jaiswal as the next great Test batsman? He appears to have everything, especially the cold blood that sits at the heart of his shot selection. Great feet, mental picture of the field for every ball, timing and an immaculate sense of when to attack and defend. That feels like early Viv or Brian to me.” Not quite convinced by those parallels, but the point about cold blood is a very interesting one.

32nd over: India 130-1 (Jaiswal 80, Gill 26) Jaiswal, suddenly addicted to sixes, gets a cheap one as Root bowls a full toss. Root bites back with a ball that lifts and spits out of the rough, beating the bat, but even that will only have the Indian spinners licking their lips.

31st over: India 123-1 (Jaiswal 73, Gill 26) It’s too easy for Jaiswal now. Seeing Rehan give his leg-break a bit of air, he slogs it for another six. India lead by 249, and the last 48 of those have come off five overs. To add insult to injury, bottles of water are brought out for the batters and offered to the umpires too, but there’s not a drop for the fielders.

30th over: India 116-1 (Jaiswal 66, Gill 26) It’s a double change as Hartley, who bowled a bit better than 10-0-39-0 might suggest, gives way to Root. Ravi Shastri points out that Root has bowled more overs in this series (89) than he has scored runs (70). Jaiswal, seeing it like a beach ball now, goes back to a slider and whips it for four to midwicket.

29th over: India 111-1 (Jaiswal 61, Gill 26) Stokes gives Anderson a breather and a chance to ponder some uncharacteristic figures (6-1-32-0). For the first time in this innings, Rehan Ahmed gets a bowl. He starts pretty well but can’t stop Gill playing an elegant late cut for four. That makes 67-0 off 13 overs since tea.

28th over: India 107-1 (Jaiswal 61, Gill 22) Jaiswal has turned into a completely different person. Spying a full toss from Hartley, he reaches his fifty with a swing for six. And then does it again! After inching to 35 off 73 balls, he has blasted 26 off the last eight.

“There’s been something of an inevitable and extreme pile on for England having a (very) bad day,” says Geoff Wignall. “Overall judgements are probably better left until the series ends. But at what point does Bairstow’s position become questionable, if not untenable? He’s produced little since his extreme sports misadventure and now seems to be doing no more than keeping the seat warm for Harry Brook.”

Jaiswal goes crazy!

26th over: India 75-1 (Jaiswal 35, Gill 20) Hartley beats Jaiswal again, with lift rather than turn, as he misses a cut. But before that each batter takes a single, so India lead by 201.

“As others have said, it’s disappointing but this was always priced in to this side,” writes Guy Hornsby. “It’s going to happen when you’re playing positive and aggressive cricket. Also, the tail has got runs most innings in India so far, so it could’ve been much closer with a couple of breezy 20s from Ahmed and Hartley. Even with Root and Bairstow’s lack of runs, 5 for 20 was a blow. But this is still a class Indian side who seem to have endless batting prodigies. All we can do is keep plugging away. But Jesus you have to feel for Jimmy and Wood in particular, he doesn’t deserve this.”

25th over: India 73-1 (Jaiswal 34, Gill 19) As well as that short midwicket, Anderson now has a mildly silly mid-on. He gets his metronome working again and collects a maiden, but can’t find enough reverse to bother Gill.

24th over: India 73-1 (Jaiswal 34, Gill 19) As far as I remember, there hasn’t been a sweep shot in this innings – until now. Jaiswal, facing Hartley, plays one and it’s very good, fast and decisive, worthy of Duckett. Next ball, Hartley retorts by turning the ball out of the rough, beating the bat and appealing for leg-before (not given, nor reviewed). More significantly, there’s a puff of dust – not a good omen for England, who have to bat last.

23rd over: India 67-1 (Jaiswal 29, Gill 18) Wood’s place as the reverse merchant is taken by Jimmy Anderson, who has much the same field, one slip and a short midwicket. As with the new ball, he begins by bowling too short: Gill cashes in calmly with a cut for four.

22nd over: India 63-1 (Jaiswal 29, Gill 14) Hartley, getting no joy, goes over the wicket for the last ball of this over and beats Jaiswal, who suddenly tries a big heave, perhaps seduced by Stokes leaving a gap at long-on. This may be the only way back for England – making things happen by messing with the minds of the young batters.

21st over: India 62-1 (Jaiswal 29, Gill 13) Wood continues and his plan, Knight reckons, is to get Gill playing round his front pad. There is a little reverse swing, but when Wood spears the ball in Gill meets it with a broad blade and a cover drive for four.

“Just catching up on the OBO,” says Deepak Puri, “and I see Bairstow was out for a duck in four balls. Last time he toured India, my partner (hello Ali – putting in a long shift today for the NHS) and I coined the term ‘back in a Bairstow’ as a measure of a very short period of time. Seems it still applies.” Ha.

Bairstow’s Test average in India is 27, his lowest in any Test-playing country (in UAE, it’s 22).

20th over: India 56-1 (Jaiswal 28, Gill 8) Jaiswal shows his first sign of aggression against the spinners, dancing down the track to cover-drive Hartley for four. “All the work done by the feet,” says Nick Knight, his voice glowing with admiration.

19th over: India 50-1 (Jaiswal 23, Gill 7) Wood continues and does that thing of his, hurling himself to the ground. Jaiswal keeps taking a single off the first ball of the over, which is fine by England as they want to have a go at Gill – but this time Gill is busier, finding a single himself with a crisp push and a firm call. The over ends up going for four singles, although the last one, also from Gill, is an inside edge. Wood then heads off the field, to be replaced by Dan Lawrence.

Meanwhile a TV caption has a hint for Ben Stokes. “Shubman Gill in Tests,” it says: “five times dismissed by James Anderson.”

18th over: India 46-1 (Jaiswal 21, Gill 5) At the Joe Root end, Stokes takes Root off and brings Hartley straight back. Hartley manages a moral victory over Gill, who comes down the wicket, fails to reach the pitch and ends up having to improvise with an inelegant prod.

17th over: India 45-1 (Jaiswal 20, Gill 5) Play resumes from the Wood-Hartley end, where Ben Stokes replaces Hartley with Wood. Just one slip now, plus a short midwicket. Jaiswal dabs a single off the first ball and gets a telling-off from Kumar Dharmasena for running down the middle of the pitch – the crime that cost India five runs in the first innings.

Here’s Ewan Glenton. “I think this Bazball England team has earned enough respect – i.e. they’ve managed to turn things around and do well often enough – to give them at least a few sessions of leeway: the existential conversation about that rubbish collapse and how significant it might be is one we should surely be having not now but after the match, no? If they manage again to pull something out of the hat and get a result (we know it’s not beyond them, far from it) we’ll all be accepting that with this approach we just have to take the lows with the highs and ask ourselves how happy we are with the high points; there’s an element of gambling to it all, without which the whole thing couldn’t possibly work. If it doesn’t work and the end result is no different from the last tour, then of course it needs to be looked at.”

In the studio, Alastair Cook is saying “England have to shock their way back into this game.” Narrator: Cook has never shocked his way into anything.

“Tim, my dear old thing,” says Kim Thonger. “Having carefully considered the Root dismissal, I can only assume it’s part of a grand Stokesian masterplan to induce over-confidence in the Indian attack. Chasing 499 to win, Root will suddenly transform himself into the hyperconcentrating old-fashioned Root we used to know and love as he guides us home to victory with a chanceless knock of 250. It’s written in the stars.” Of course it is.