England vs India, 3rd Test - Who Said What

India have stormed back into the five-match Test series against England after defeating them by 203 runs in the third match. The platform was set up nicely by the batsmen after putting in to bat first by Joe Root. The duo of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane batted superbly and scored half-centuries as India posted a competitive total of 329 in the first innings and it was time for the bowlers to respond in the must-win game.

They stepped up to the task sensationally as their all-rounder Hardik Pandya picked his maiden five-wicket haul. He perfectly used the conditions and bamboozled the hosts within a session. England were bundled out for 161 in the first innings and since then they were behind the game totally. Though they would’ve hoped to skittle India early in their second essay but that was not to be.

Kohli stands tall again

The second innings belonged to Virat Kohli once again as he made amends for the missed century in the first innings. He, along with Cheteshwar Pujara, wore down the opposition completely on the third day. Their partnership of 113 runs effectively batted England out of the game and then everybody waited for the declaration to come. In the meantime, Hardik Pandya also scored a half-century and stretched the lead past 500 to make almost impossible for the hosts to come back.

In the second innings, the top-order of England was blown away once again as they were struggling at 62/4. Many felt that they will be skittled out early again. But Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler had other ideas. They stitched out a stand of 169 runs which made a few nervous. But it was only a matter of time and the second new ball turned things around. Jasprit Bumrah sent back the centurion Buttler and then castled Jonny Bairstow off the very next ball.

Eventually, the breakthrough opened the floodgates and England were bowled out for 317 runs on the final day with Ravi Ashwin picking the wicket of Anderson to put an end to the proceedings.

India skipper and Man of the Match, Virat Kohli said:

We as a team want to dedicate this win to the flood victims in Kerala. This is our bit we can do as the Indian cricket team.

A tough time there. The victory was much-needed in this series and in context, and to have been clinical in all departments is a victory for the entire dressing room. A complete Test for us.

There was no panic, and we were outplayed in only one game out of the last 5, and that was Lord’s. We dominated in this game because we put runs on the board and then the bowlers did well, they were waiting and ready, even Ashwin did well with his injury.

The bowling was ready to take 20 wickets again, and I’m glad the batsmen stepped up. So we, as batsmen, did well to give them a cushion for the bowlers to go hard. Even the slips did well, and this mix of all skills couldn’t have come at a better time.

The partnership between me and Ajinkya was crucial if you look back at the Test. Ajinkya was clear in his mindset in the first innings, and when he goes out and plays like that, he is attractive to watch and he can change the complexion of the game. It was about getting stuck and not throwing our wickets away.

They’re a quality attack and you need grit and determination to score against them, and Ajinkya did that in the first innings and Pujara in the 2nd.

I haven’t thought about the 2014 failures, but I’d like to dedicate this to my wife who is here and keeps motivating me. She’s copped a lot in the past but she deserves the credit for this one.

The four fastest bowlers in the series have been Indians and we’re proud of our fitness levels. We want the opposition to bat well and get runs and we don’t want to gift them any, we want to get rid of loose balls. They’re getting into that kind of a mindset and getting Test runs should be difficult.

We definitely believe we can come back from 0-2 to 3-2, we just need to keep moving forward, keep winning. We wouldn’t be 2-1 if we didn’t believe. The respect and the belief in the change room is important, and one must keep wanting to win. We need to bring out the impact performances in the next two Tests as well.

England skipper, Joe Root said:

I don’t think there are any regrets. It’s a strong team that we have. It was always going to be a difficult decision, and looking at the toss, there was some light grass on the wicket and it was a good opportunity to get ahead in the game. That didn’t happen. That’s nitpicking, if I say we should have bowled fuller, so we just have to give the credit to India.

We underperformed in the first innings. In the 2nd innings, the partnership between Buttler and Stokes was admirable and a lesson in how to play Test cricket. We have to look at that, and adapt our games individually in Southampton.

You’re always looking to find a way to get people out (on Virat), and it’s not like he has got quick runs against us, but he’s got a way to adapt to these conditions. We have experienced bowlers, who can work him out. We need to give our bowlers a good chance in the slips (about the 12 catches dropped).

It’s early days for the Bairstow injury, and over the next few days we will have a better idea about the swelling. It would be great if he manages to recover – you want guys like that in your side.

It has been challenging in the top-order in this series, and these conditions, so it’s difficult to rule the openers out.

The best thing about Buttler’s 100 was that he showed how good a cricket brain he has and how well he worked out the situation. It was great to see what he is capable of doing and hopefully he can score a lot of hundreds in this series.

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