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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
James Wallace (now) and Daniel Gallan(earlier)

India v England: first Test, day three – as it happened

India England Tom Hartley
England's Ollie Pope celebrates after reaching his century.
England's Ollie Pope celebrates after reaching his century. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

What a day. England started pretty much out of the running and ended it with Pope… and hope. A deficit of 190 on first innings has been converted into a lead of 126 with four wickets in hand and Ollie Pope still there holding everything together on 148*.

That’s it from us today, I’ll be back bright and early in the wee small hours to bring you the first couple of sessions. Can England extend their lead and put India under some pressure on a wearing pitch or will India snuff them out quickly and set about the visitors greenhorn spin attack with relish once again? There’s only one way to find out and it requires setting a series of punishingly early alarms. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Do join us for what promises to be an intriguing day four in Hyderabad. Until then, goodbye!

Updated

A beaming and hopeful Joe Root speaks to Eoin Morgan:

“A brilliant day’s cricket. The way that we went about it from the very start, we were so clinical with the ball and made it very difficult for them to capitalise on what they did yesterday. And that opening stand, it could have been very tricky to lose a couple of early wickets but they’ve (Crawley and Duckett) been so good for the last couple of years getting us off to brilliant starts. And then we had a couple of partnerships that followed, we had to get through a tricky phase when it was reversing.”

Root knows a thing or two about seismic knocks in South Asia and he is full of praise for Ollie Pope (‘Popey’)

The way that Popey played in particular has been an absolute masterclass on how to score runs in this part of the world. When you’re not used to playing here, to be able to consistently make the right decisions under pressure, in big moments and big games, phenomenal”

Updated

Sanket Dhume emails in with a gripe against Rohit’s captaincy:

“Not to take credit away from Pope & England - I think they have played well today, but I also think India are not very well led at times. I don’t understand why Rohit was bowling his top tier spinners with only 1 close in fielder and a pick of singles on offer while England were still effectively 20 or 30 for 5. I think tactically he’s marginally better than Virat as a captain, but I definitely miss the all out hostility and aggression of Kohli’s captaincy. India under Rohit lets a lot of teams off the hook, while Kohli’s India went for the jugular at first sight.”

Updated

“England have a tomorrow thanks to Ollie Pope” chirps Kevin Pietersen in a surprisingly poetic way on the tv coverage. It’s apt that KP was purring away over Pope at the end there – for my money that is one of England’s best overseas Test innings of the past decade or so. Joe Root and Alistair Cook have a few between them, Pietersen’s epic in Mumbai of course… Pope’s 148* in Hyderabad is right up there and isn’t over yet.

Updated

Stumps: England 316-6 (Lead by 126 runs)

77th over: England 316-6 (Pope 148, Ahmed 16) Pope and Ahmed make it through to the close! Ashwin returns for the final over of the day and Rehan Ahmed aint bovvered mate. A shorter ball from the Indian spin maestro is emphatically pulled over midwicket for four runs. I don’t diddly mind it! Three dots follow before the final ball… which Rehan nudges nonchalantly for a single to bring a pulsating and promising day of Test cricket to a close.

England's Rehan Ahmed and Ollie Pope walk back to the pavilion after stumps.
England's Rehan Ahmed and Ollie Pope walk back to the pavilion after stumps. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Updated

76th over: England 311-6 (Pope 148, Ahmed 11) Jadeja with the penultimate over of the day. Can he prise out a wicket and give India a shot in the arm to take into day four? Nope. Pope and Ahmed clip and tickle, glide and scamper. Six runs off the over and we have just one left in the day!

“Morning James, well this has upset a lot of rearranged Sunday mornings. But isn’t it just a measure of how far this England team has come that we’ve got that voice at the back of our head saying “they couldn’t, could they?”

Exactly this Mark Beadle. It surely beats washing the car and taking the kiddies for a walk?

75th over: England 305-6 (Pope 145, Ahmed 9) Bumrah is back but still looks ill at ease. Rehan negates five deliveries and then takes a single off the last ball, he’s clearly not bothered about facing up to Jadeja.

This is nice and far too kind from Matt Dunhill:

“Hi Jim,

Thanks as always for covering the obo with such panache, days like this make me feel as though it’s the best job in the world, but I bet it’s bloody hard work! (We can’t complain, Matt, it’s an absolute privilege)

I’ve enjoyed loads of different sports over the years but in the current climate, I genuinely think test cricket is right up near the top if the tree. Unpredictable, full of skill, a range of good commentary options depending on preference, a global fanbase, camaraderie between sides that (usually) doesn’t go overboard...

Test cricket isn’t dead, it’s the best version of any sport in the world bar none.

Accepting that it’ll never be free to air again is something I can cope with considering we’ve got the OBO (and others) providing us excellent insight. Glorious.”

Soaring strings were playing in my head as I read this. I told you I was feeling emoshionul Matt for crying out loud.

Updated

74th over: England 304-6 (Pope 145, Ahmed 8) Three overs left in the day, England would dearly love to survive unscathed. Both batters are showing positive intent though, not merely hanging on for stumps. Four singles pinched off Jadeja.

Updated

73rd over: England 300-6 (Pope 143, Ahmed 6) Bumrah runs in a little gingerly and serves up a half volley that Pope doesn’t miss out on – picking off his pads with aplonb for four runs. Bumrah has cramp by the looks of it, the medical man runs on with some tablets and bottle of water. A Pope single takes the England score to 300 and a lead of 110 runs.

72nd over: England 295-6 (Pope 138, Ahmed 6) Rehan goes up and over the infield with a lofted drive that brings him a single. He’s really got something about him this kid. Three more added to the total but stand by your beds/behind your sofa. Jasprit Bumrah is coming on for a burst with five overs remaining in the day. Gulp.

71st over: England 292-6 (Pope 136, Ahmed 5) England’s lead moves past three figures as Pope manipulates Axar for three runs. That’s quite the turnaround from their position at the start of the day BUT you’d still think India will make short work of the target against England’s greenhorn spin attack. Still, England have shown real skill and guts today and they deserve the sniff of a chance that they are carving out for themselves.

70th over: England 289-6 (Pope 133, Ahmed 5) Audacious no-look ramp shot from Ollie Pope that he executes perfectly to pick up four runs directly up and over the keeper’s head. How do you do even do that, the mind boggles at the skill and audacity of it.

Hohoho (Seriously though, Ben)

Updated

69th over: England 284-6 (Pope 128, Ahmed 5) Pope pinches a single to bring Rehan on strike. No sign of nerves for the teenage leggie who plays another powerful cut shot to the sweeper on the off side fence.

68th over: England 281-6 (Pope 126, Ahmed 4) Well, that’ll do. Rehan plays a delightful cut off Jadeja to get off the mark with a boundary. England’s lead is up to 91.

67th over: England 275-5 (Pope 125, Ahmed 0) Rehan Ahmed is the new man, he needs to stay with Ollie Pope here but his natural game is to play his shots.

Do we forgive?

Updated

WICKET! Foakes b Patel 34 (England 275-6)

Bowled by a grubber! Nothing Foakes could do about that one. Patel redeems himself with a lot of assistance from the pitch – spearing in a full ball that slides past Ben Foakes to thunk into the base of off stump. Pope gives his partner a sorrowful pat on the back as he trudges off the field.

Ben Foakes gets bowed out by India’s Axar Patel.
Ben Foakes gets bowed out by India’s Axar Patel. Photograph: Mahesh Kumar A/AP

Updated

66th over: England 270-5 (Pope 120, Foakes 34) Close! Pope reverses once again and the ball takes the wristband and loops over the keeper and away for four. Jadeja responds with a snorter that grips off the pitch. The surface has just started to look a bit more unpredictable in the last few overs, a few shooting, a few ragging. A lot to think about.

Updated

65th over: England 264-5 (Pope 115, Foakes 33) India are still reeling from the Axar drop. It looks even worse on the slow mo replay. Can Pope make them pay? The guilty man is bowling and is worked away for a couple of singles whilst also gifting a front foot no ball.

64th over: England 261-5 (Pope 114, Foakes 32) Pope is dropped by Axar Patel! It was a simple chance too – a reverse sweep that ballooned to point but Axar shells the head high chance. Huge let off for England and Pope! Salt meet Wound. Pope rocks back and smashes the next ball away square for four runs.

63rd over: England 252-5 (Pope 106, Foakes 31) Pope dismissively bunts a full toss from Axar away to the midwicket fence. AyeAyeAye. What a response from the bowler! He shapes one in that then rips away seemingly at a bleedin’ right angle. Pope can’t do anything about that one… but survives.

Updated

62nd over: England 248-5 (Pope 102, Foakes 31) There are sixteen overs left in the day. Who is daring to dream? As ever you can fling me an email or drop me a missive @Jimbo_Cricket – let’s knuckle down for this final hour together? Ashwin oversteps to give England another run. Foakes climbs into a slightly shorter ball to take a single to deep point and Pope showcases his Andrex-soft hands by dropping a spitting ball into the leg side and calling his partner through without a second thought.

61st over: England 245-5 (Pope 101, Foakes 30) The ball has gone out of shape and is going to be changed, I feel even more nervous as I type that. Pope and Foakes have played so well to get England into a lead but it only stands at 55 runs and we’ve seen wickets fall in clumps.

Updated

Ollie Pope scores a fifth Test Century!

There it is! A clip through midwicket for three runs sees Pope go to three figures! He removes his helmet to reveal a sweat drenched mini-mullet and gives a wave of the bat back to the bazboys who stand and applaud. That is some knock, he’s inching England back into contention in this Test match. Inching.

Ollie Pope celebrates after reaching his century.
Ollie Pope celebrates after reaching his century. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Updated

60th over: England 239-5 (Pope 97, Foakes 28) Pope reverse-sweeps Ashwin for a single to go to 97. Tension surging through my fingers, can barely hold my toast and type at the same time.

Updated

59th over: England 235-5 (Pope 96, Foakes 25) Pope goes within four of the big one with a clip off Jadeja to the gap at midwicket.

Hello to Niall Mullen – “England playing dead before sucker punching their opponents? Real pope-a-dope tactics.”

BuddumTscchhh

Updated

58th over: England 233-5 (Pope 95, Foakes 25) The England fans in the stadium are on their feet and belting out some “tunes” as Pope is now within one lusty blow of a magnificent century. Five runs off Ashwin’s over, the highlight a rubber wristed flick for two by Ben Foakes.

57th over: England 228-5 (Pope 93, Foakes 22) The Siraj experiment is short lived, Rohit recalling Jadeja into the attack. A couple of singles to each batter stretch England’s lead to 39 runs. The crowd are definitely getting a leeetle bit restless now.

56th over: England 226-5 (Pope 92, Foakes 21) Ollie Pope becomes the first man in the Test match to breach the ninety run mark, IF he gets there this will surely be his finest knock in an England shirt? Taking into account the bowling attack, the conditions and the match situation. Seven runs pocketed off Ashwin including a delightful reverse-sweep for four from the Papal one.

55th over: England 219-5 (Pope 87, Foakes 19) The fifty partnership comes up between this pair as Pope picks up a couple through point off the returning Siraj. The seamer is a bit rusty after his break and serves up four more byes down the leg side.

Updated

54th over: England 211-5 (Pope 83, Foakes 12) Now then – eleven runs off the over. A tidy haul for England who creep ahead by 21 runs. Ashwin beats Pope and the keeper with a sharply turning ball that runs away fine for four byes. England will take ‘em any which way. Pope drops a single, Foakes clips a brace and then sweeps confidently behind square for four. Rack ‘em up.

53rd over: England 200-5 (Pope 83, Foakes 12) A Bumrah maiden to Foakes. India fans beginning to get a little restless at the lack of a breakthrough post tea.

Dennis John’s is in the OBO mailbag and inadvertantly confirming my long held belief. How do you know if someone does park run? They tell you.

“Morning Jim, Hope this doesn’t jinx anything but very pleasing to finish park run and find we’ve not lost a wicket since I left home.” I’m only teasing Dennis. You are just making me feel bad for lying prone on my sofa whilst chomping through a mound of buttered toast.

“One for nickname corner: wondering if, bearing in mind where the Oval is, and in tribute to Danny the Dealer, we can christen Oli Pope the Camberwell Carrot?”

52nd over: England 200-5 (Pope 83, Foakes 12) Pope and Foakes are combining well to scamper singles where they can. The 200 comes up for England. Pope n Hope.

51st over: England 197-5 (Pope 82, Foakes 11) Bumrah is searching for the toe-crusher but slides it too far down the leg side. Pope is annoyed he didn’t get a tickle on it for an easy boundary but he does keep strike with a push into the off side off the last ball.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

50th over: England 195-5 (Pope 81, Foakes 10) Jadeja beats Pope with snorting turn off his first ball but the ginger one punches back with a sweep through midwicket that Ashwin and Patidar leave to each other only for the ball to trickle into the sponge.

Updated

49th over: England 191-5 (Pope 77, Foakes 10) Bumrah spears in a maiden with a slip and gully in place. Foakes is concentrating intently as Jasprit goes full, zoning in on pads, toes and stumps.

“G’day James, I feel Victor Manley could be onto something. It puts me in mind of the classic Machiavelli quote about the reformer receiving vitriol from those who currently prosper, while getting only lukewarm support from those who might stand to gain from a new regime. Personally, as the child of an Englishman and a New Zealander, I dislike Bazball because it conjures images normally reserved for the most off-putting of Rorschach tests...”

Arf Rowan Sweeney. We’re very highbrow this morning aren’t we? I’m all for it. The OBO salon.

48th over: England 191-5 (Pope 77, Foakes 10) England take the lead! Three runs off Jadeja and that is a decent effort from England to cancel out the deficit of 190 runs. They’d dearly love to have a few more wickets in the hutch but Pope is going nicely and is being ably supported by Pope. Dare to dream… but not for long – Bumrah is coming back into the attack.

47th over: England 188-5 (Pope 76, Foakes 9) Crikey! Pope pushes into the midwicket region and calls Foakes for a second… he had to put the afterburners on there to make his ground! England do not, repeat NOT need a run out in these circumstances.

46th over: England 186-5 (Pope 74, Foakes 9) England continue their proactive re-start since tea. Pope clips square for a single and Foakes picks up three runs with a whip wide of mid on. Jadeja keeps Pope honest by ripping one past the outside edge.

Updated

45th over: England 181-5 (Pope 72, Foakes 6) Foakes is stoic, blocks out a maiden from Axar.

Updated

44th over: England 181-5 (Pope 72, Foakes 6) England have started positively post tea, probably had a slug of Bazball in their chai during the break. Pope drives Jadeja down through mid on for four to take the deficit into single figures.

Ciao Colum Fordham:

“Morning Jim, greetings from a gloriously sunny Rome. As they say, all roads lead to the Italian capital. As for the Test match, I’d say all roads lead to an Indian victory but as long as we have the Pope…”

If he gets a big ton from here I’ll let off some ceremonial white smoke of my own, Colum. I do have plenty of receipts to get rid of. Can’t be too careful.

Ollie Pope plays a shot.
Ollie Pope plays a shot. Photograph: Mahesh Kumar A/AP

Updated

43rd over: England 177-5 (Pope 68, Foakes 6) Here come the players post tea. Axar Patel with the first over, he’s around the wicket with one slip in place. Shot! Patel goes too full and Foakes plays a perfect cover drive to pick up his first boundary, waiting until the ball was right under his nose before unfurling fully.

“Dear James, Loving the coverage.”

Too kind Victor Manley.

“Not to venture too far into psychosocial theorising, but isn’t the criticism of Bazball rather predictable based on the usual acceptance pathway of other evolutions/revolutions in science and culture? Darwinism. Coltrane’s adventures into the Avant-garde. Star wars: the phantom menace. In other words, everyone (even early supporters) sort of want new things to fail. Change being scary, and all that. Because it undoubtedly is. Too much for a Saturday morning?”

haha. No I like this Victor. A friend and his dad took me to the cinema to see Phantom Menace when it came out and… I fell asleep. I was about 12 years old. Stars Wars never my thing but even I knew Jar Jar Binks was rooobish. Reminds me of this scene from the excellent Spaced too:

“What a…

Bumpin’ Bumrah. If you haven’t already do do do do give this excellent interview our man Ali Martin did with Jasprit Bumrah just before the Test got underway.

Tea: England 170-5 (trail India by 18 runs)

Sweet relief. England make it to tea after a Jadeja maiden but have suffered a bruising session there, losing Duckett, Root, Bairstow and Stokes to some ridiculously skilful bowling. Ollie Pope has played beautifully for his 67*, looking to be positive and using his feet and in general appearing much less skittish.

42nd over: England 172-5 (Pope 67, Foakes 2)

Updated

41st over: England 170-5 (Pope 67, Foakes 2) Axar returns and sends down a maiden in the time it takes me to take a singular slurp of Kenco.

Get a load of this:

That noise eh? I was once moved to crap on about it. Gudddunk!

Updated

40th over: England 170-5 (Pope 67, Foakes 2) There are just over five minutes til tea. England will be glad to reach safe harbour Mind you, India can probably rattle through eight over in that space of time.

“Morning James! If Pope can make, say, 186, this could be interesting. Whatever happens, love watching both these teams. Long live Test cricket.”

Vive la SimonMcMahon!

Updated

39th over: England 170-5 (Pope 64, Foakes 1) Pope is proactive, clipping Ashwin to leg and pushing hard to come back for two. Foakes is off the mark with a neat flick to midwicket.

Meanwhile – in Australia:

Updated

38th over: England 159-4 (Pope 58, Foakes 0) Pope picks up two with a glide through point and adds a third off the over by leaning on a length ball into the covers. Foakes defends the last three. England trail by 24.

Updated

37th over: England 163-5 (Pope 58, Foakes 0) Welcome Ben Foakes. Here, have a first ball that pitches on a good length and rears up sharply to just miss the outside edge of your forward prod. Will you be staying long, sir?

WICKET! Stokes b Ashwin 6 (England 163-5)

You cannot play that Ben Stokes! And to be very fair – NO ONE else would have been able to either. Ashwin is a genius, he fires in a faster delivery that pitches on middle and leg and careers off the biscuit surface and takes out the off stump. Unplayable.

Ben Stokes is bowled out by India's Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ben Stokes is bowled out by India's Ravichandran Ashwin. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Updated

36th over: England 159-4 (Pope 58, Stokes 5) Eeesht. Stokes is beaten by a sharp one. Passed by the off stump close enought to whisper a sweet nothing or two into the bail groove. He gets off strike next ball and Pope gets on his haunches to sweep a single into the deep.

Updated

35th over: England 157-4 (Pope 57, Stokes 4) Ashwin stitches together his third maiden in a row.

G’Morning to Tom v Ducht:

“It’s always fun to get up in the morning and scroll through the match so far on the OBO to get a in-depth rundown of events thus far. It’s striking how harsh some of the criticism of England seems to be. Hammering McCullum and Stokes for their approach is a bit like bemoaning Heston Blumenthal’s menu for not selling steak and chips. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but why not marvel at it’s daring and ingenuity.

Secondly, complaining about our spinners and comparing them to India’s (who are some of the best in the world and in their own backyard) isn’t a fair comparison: the cupboard was relatively bare but they’re still not wilting under pressure and having a pop at the champ. It’s a bit like laying into Ipswich Town’s attacking play because their players aren’t Premiership quality rather than applauding their intent.”

I largely agree and also admire your clarity of thought and your analogies at this time on a Saturday morning, Tom.

34th over: England 157-4 (Pope 57, Stokes 4) Jadeja skips in for another. A couple of singles poked into the off side by Stokes and Pope and a front foot no ball adds another to England’s total.

Guy Hornsby is on the wires with a neat precis:

“Morning from a chilly with Manchester Jim. Despite the fact England are going to lose by a long way, it’s at least heartening to see our batters making a better go of it. They are just coming up against a truly brilliant, relentless attack. Duckett’s shot was rash, but he was undone by Bumrah’s wrist, and Root was done by his habit of falling to off and Bumrah’s incredible skill. Bairstow was playing well but two balls from Jadeja looked identical and went separate ways. Sometimes you have to just marvel at this all. It would be great if we could get a reasonable lead and at least make India bat again, but no one comes here and finds it easy. The worry, by far, is the bowling. We just plain got it wrong here, sadly. And Leach’s knee just makes the picks we have even more exposed. Root is effectively our no 1 now.”

33rd over: England 154-4 (Pope 56, Stokes 3) Ashwin rattles off a maiden. He skids the first ball past Stokes groping blade and the England captain totters forward slightly. India go up for the stumping but the screen shows that Stokes kept a couple of toes grounded in the crease. The sun beats down and the pressure cooker rises in Hyderabad. Here in South London, my beloved bring me a steaming mug of Kenco. We’re both a bit fragile this morning after going to see All Of Us Strangers at the cinema last night. Be gentle with me. If England collapse here then my tearducts might very well crank into action again.

32nd over: England 154-4 (Pope 56, Stokes 3) My fingers (and let’s be honest coffee-less brain) are struggling to keep up this morning. Jadeja gets through his over in the blink of eye, Ollie Pope shows fantastic intent by trotting down to a fuller ball and clipping it away for four runs. Five dots otherwise. England trail by 36, the game is dancing on a blade’s edge.

31st over: England 150-4 (Pope 52, Stokes 3) Ashwin to Stokes. Dot follows dot. Oohs and ahhs after every delivery. The pitch spits like a bag of angry cobras. Dot follows dot. A maiden.

30th over: England 150-4 (Pope 52, Stokes 3) Stokes is granite in defence. You’d want him defending for your life. Jadeja rattles though another over at Warp Speed decked in his shades and Karate bandana. Stokes cuts for a single to keep England ticking.

29th over: England 149-4 (Pope 52, Stokes 2) Ashwin to Stokes. Box office stuff. Stokes is wise enough to work a single into the gap first ball and get down t’other end. Hen’s teeth! Ashwin serves up a full bunger which Pope gladly flicks to the midwicket fence to bring up a fine fifty. A glide to point for two more, England continue to roll along at above five an over. They trail by 41.

Ollie Pope celebrates after reaching his half century.
Ollie Pope celebrates after reaching his half century. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Updated

28th over: England 142-4 (Pope 46, Stokes 1) Stokes nudges off his hip to get off the mark. Pope smothers the last ball to snuff out the rest of the over. India keep taking wickets, a lot of pressure now on the shoulders of Pope to go on and make this innings a big one.

WICKET! Jonny Bairstow b Jadeja 10 (England 140-4)

Two types of leave… Bairstow lets a straight one from Jadeja go and it scuds onto his off stump. He looks back down the track bemused. Excellent bowling from Jadeja who got the ball before to grip and turn past the edge the ball before. The wicket ball landed in the same spot and fizzed on to thud into the unprotected off pole. Here comes Ben Stokes. England trail by 48 runs with six second innings wickets in the hutch.

Jonny Bairstow walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket, bowled out by India's Ravindra Jadeja.
Jonny Bairstow walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket, bowled out by India's Ravindra Jadeja. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Updated

27th over: England 136-3 (Pope 46, Bairstow 6) Thanks Dan, hello all. Straight down to brass tacks as Axar whirls away after a slurp of something luminous. Bairstow nudges a single into the off side to bring Pope on strike. The Papal one then skips down the track and lofts to the fence over mid on. England chipping away. India chipping away too, mind.

26th over: England 131-3 (Pope 42, Bairstow) Ironically England have looked more comfortable playing spin than pace. Maybe that’s because the pace has been served by Bumrah. Whatever the reason, Pope has kicked off this Jadeja innings with a reverse sweep that trickles fine for four. A single apiece closes it out and with that the players will take drinks and I’ll take my leave.

Thanks for keeping my company. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Jimbo Wallace. Over to you Jim!

25th over: England: 125-3 (Pope 37, Bairstow 4) Oh wow! How has Bairstow kept out that Bumrah yorker? I’m not sure even he knows. It was perfectly angled and directed and only the late intervention of a wedged bat kept the stumps intact. Three singles off that over which should be the end of a wonderful spell of fast bowling that has put India back in control of the match. Credit to Bairstow, he’s played that over with confidence and also picked Bumrah’s slower ball which is a sure sign he’s seeing it well.

24th over: England 122-3 (Pope 35, Bairstow 3) Not surprised to see Siraj taken out of the attack and spin brought back into the fold. It’s Jadeja who is looking to take the ball away from the right handers. He’s a bit too full and then a bit too short and both Bairstow and Pope work singles into the off-side.

23rd over: England 120-3 (Pope 34, Bairstow 2) Bumrah is targeting Bairstow’s stumps. Full and straight with a short mid-on hovering. The pugnacious Yorkshireman is solidly behind it and playing it late so no dramas there. He’ll keep the strike with another single as he leans into a controlled push to the covers.

Darryl’s mail has attracted some attention:

Here’s Brian Withington’s response:

“Morning Daniel. Not sure that the timing of Darryl Accone’s missive is really the issue for me when it comes to fairness.

“I don’t think there is any call for linking Bairstow and Foakes being in the same squad and now team with an unfortunate departure for personal reasons (quote marks deliberately omitted). Questions of potential mistreatment and abuse of the player would also seem well wide of the mark, at any time of day.

”And in passing the over-bowling of Archer somewhat pre-dates the current management.

”Full marks for the cod philosophy though.”

And this is what William Vignoles has to say:

“Darryl maybe has a point that the Foakes/Bairstow conundrum doesn’t help either, but it seems harsh in the extreme to blame it for Harry Brook having to return home.

“They probably should’ve brought Liam Dawson over but McCullum and Stokes are hardly to blame for the lack of quality spinners produced by the county game, nor are they particularly wrong that warmups aren’t much use in an environment where home boards put out teams made up of the lad who makes the tea and his mates. It seems that at every turn people are relishing the chance to say I told you so when England fail - they probably will do so in this series, but seeing as India have lost three tests in over ten years at home they’re not alone there.”

22nd over: England 119-3 (Pope 34, Bairstow 1) Siraj hasn’t quite found his radar. A couple sprayed down leg means he can’t find a consistently probing line. Pope gets a single with a flick to fine leg and Bairtow will keep the strike after getting off the mark with a push past point.

21st over: England 117-3 (Pope 33, Bairstow 0). How do you play Bumrah? He’s got so many tricks, how do you prepare for what comes next? An inswinger to Root, then a yorker to Pope, then a slower-ball that took 20 km/h off from the previous delivery before a cutter that sliced Root in half from a good length. For the seventh time Bumrah has England’s premier batter and now, after cruising along, the tourists are ina bit of a hole.

WICKET! Root lbw Bumrah 2 (England 117-3)

He’s a magician! Simply unplayable. In an over that included an in-swinger that almost beat Root, a yorker that almost bowled Pope and an off-cutter that completely bamboozled Pope, he now getsa one to jag back off the deck and thwack Root on the pad. It’s reviewed, but that always looked out. Bumrah is next level. An astonishing cricketer.

Get a load of this:

20th over: England 115-2 (Pope 32, Root 1) Siraj joins the party. Pope gets him away for a single in front of square on the leg side and then Root is off the mark behind square leg. Pope tries to work it past gully with some late dabs and then gets forward with a firm drive but can’t beat the man at cover.

19th over: England 113-2 (Pope 31, Root 0) Bumrah wins in the end. He watched the first ball of this over burst through the fielder at cover and run away for four. It was a well-timed drive from Duckett but it should have been stopped. Then, three balls later, Duckett managed to glove a swivelled pull down to fine leg for another four and it started to feel like even Bumrah couldn’t do anything to stem the flow.

But a wicket seamer back into Duckett cut him in half to send the off peg cartwheeling.

WICKET! Duckett b Bumrah 47 (England 113-2)

He’s a superstar! The best seamer in the world for my money and that’s why. A tantalising length, he brings Duckett forward and angles it back into the lefty through the air and off the deck and crashes the furniture behind. It was perhaps an overly attacking shot as he played around it, but that was wonderful bowling. Bumrah roars with delight. He was pumped after that. He deserves that after having his request for a plumb lbw review denied in the previous over. A handy knock comes to an end.

Updated

18th over: England 105-1 (Duckett 39, Pope 31) Back to back fours to start this Ashwin over. Lovely batting from Pope. An inside out drive through mid-off to a half-volley is followed by a cute tuck off the pads down to fine leg. That give him the confidence to safely navigate the rest of the over. This partnership is hurtling along at 7 runs an over.

Had they reviewed it would have been out! Three reds. Bumrah can’t believe it. It did look close but I didn’t realise it was that close. The doubt was the leg-stump line. It was angling in and the off-stump was visible. A huge let off for Duckett!

Updated

17th over: England 97-1 (Duckett 39, Pope 23) Bumrah is back into the attack and Pope greets him with a checked-drive for two that gives the sweep on the off-side some work. That brings up the 50 run stand from just 43 deliveries. Pope then plays away from his body and gets an inside edge that trickles for a single rather than ricochet onto his stumps. The final ball pings Duckett on his pads as it traps him on the crease. There’s an appeal but, as usualy, Sharma errs on the side of caution and declines the review.

16th over: England 94-1 (Duckett 39, Pope 20) Pope gets a single off the first ball of the session with a neat clip towards midwicket. Was uppish, but safe. Duckett gets a single himself as he tucks one behind sqaure. A flashing drive catches the outside edge of Pope’s blade and he’ll take two before a reverse-sweep to deep point keeps him on strike. Five off that over. Picking up where they left off as the deficit drops below three figures.

The players are back out in the middle. Ashwin and Sharma are engaged in a long chat. Surely they’d worked out their plan during the break? Guess not. Still plenty to add as Ashwin spins the ball between his hands and gets ready to bowl to Pope.

“Good morning Daniel! Just offering my suggestion that those hats better be reversible. Enjoying England’s positive start.”

Morning Amelia. Hope you’re feeling fresh.

You’re absolutely right! Surely they’ve already thought of that? If not, someone needs to get in touch and make sure the next batch is on brand.

“Morning Daniel”, howdy Andy Bradshaw, thanks for dropping by.

“Interesting to see whether the RR of 7 continues after lunch or it’s a blip.”

I can’t imagine they’ll take their foot off the gas. And it’s not Bazball. It’s just that plodding and prodding on defence won’t do much good on this track against that bowling unit. So going on the attack is actually the most sensible appraoch.

Duckett said before the start of the series that playing with a horizontal bat on the sweep would be his most productive approach to combat the turn and bounce. So far he’s nailing them either side of the wicket and Pope looks busy as well.

Really curious to see where this goes from here.

What he said.

“Hi Daniel!” hey Darryl Accone, always good to hear from you.

“As Marx (Karl, not Groucho) wrote: “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce”.

“We are in the farce stage of Mighty Mouse McCullum’s regime. It’s hard to believe the premeditated folly of scant preparation time, the bizarre choice of debutant spinner, and the ongoing Bairstow/ Foakes wrangle that tangles the batting order and is possibly complicit in the departure “for personal reasons” of Harry Brook. Will England mistreat and abuse Brook the same way they did the demon speedster gifted them by the Windies? With the officialdom lot “in charge”, you bet.”

To be fair to Darryl, this was sent at the change of innings. Now, after Duckett’s reversing and Crawley’s biffing, perhaps there’s life in the Bazball ethos yet?

Of course, that could all come unstuck in the next session.

Here’s the Crawley wicket. You don’t see the set-up from Aswhin who moved about the crease and varied his release point.

Lunch: England 89-1, trail by 101.

England’s best session of the Test. They did the business with the ball, rattling three Indian wickets before Crawley, Duckett and Pope knocked off 89 runs at a shade under six an over.

It’s been an impressive display from the tourists. Crawley was imperious until he got a good’un from Ashwin and Duckett, with his awkward approach and crunching revers-sweeps, has steered England to the break with momentum on their side.

15th over: England 89-1 (Duckett 38, Pope 16) Jadeja replaces Patel who was struggling for control. A slider down the leg side beats Bharat and bobbles away from four byes, though the ‘keeper was unsighted by Duckett’s attempted paddle. Every other ball was worked for a single and that will be the close of play. England’s session no doubt.

14th over: England 80-1 (Duckett 36, Pope 13) Ashwin is slowing his pace down. Riiight down. An interesting ploy as it forces the batter to wait that little bit longer before playing the reverse-sweep. Duckett makes a go of it but misses out. There was an appeal for a minuscule nick but Sharma wasn’t having any of it and declined the option to review. Three singles to kick things off means that a relatively quiet over still moves the score along.

13th over: England (Duckett 35, Pope 11) Shot of the morning from Pope. In a sea of reverse-sweeps and one mighty six from Crawley over long-on, my favourite stroke so far is that one from Pope. Just a perfectly timed cover drive as he got to the pitch of the ball and on top of the bounce. So easy on the eye when he’s doing that. A single gets Duckett back on strike and he sweeps (conventionally) in front of square to close out the set. Patel is getting rinsed. England are motoring at just under six an over.

12th over: England 67-1 (Duckett 30, Pope 6) A full-toss outside Duckett’s off-stump gives the batter the freedom to do what he wants with it. So naturally he brings out another reverse-sweep and scoots it down to deep third for four. Pope unfurls a reverse of his own but looks ungainly as he does so and can only get a single. Duckett takes a single with the third revers-sweep of the over. Who knew that was a strike-rotating stroke?

11th over: England 59-1 (Duckett 24, Pope 4) Duckett smokes a reverse-sweep tthen obliterates another. My goodness he’s nailed that second one. There’s no risk. He’s reading the bounce, getting low and playing with flowing hands. Two runs to start the over means he’s taken 10 off Patel who might need to rethink his strategy.

10th over: England 49-1 (Duckett 14, Pope 4) Ashwin is a master. The manipulation of angles is what brought that Crawley wicket. Around the wicket and wider on the crease, he managed to get the ball to move across the right hander’s prod. Perhaps he was playing for the turn back in that never came. Either way, softer hands might have saved him but I won’t be too critical. That was just delicious bowling. Pope is off the mark straight away with a drive into the covers and has another two in the same region.

WICKET! Crawley c Sharma b Ashwin 31 (England 45-1)

Breakthrough! Wonderful bowling. Dangled the bait and Crawley couldn’t help himself. back around the wicket and a little slower, he dragged the tall batter out away from his body and the defensive prod was a little too firm. A healthy edge is snaffled by the skipper at first slip and India are on the board.

9th over: England 44-0 (Crawley 31, Duckett 13) A well timed clip from the back foot adds three more to Duckett’s tally. A single for Crawley past point and another single for Duckett on the on side has the scoreboard ticking along rather nicely as far as England are concerned.

8th over: England 39-0 (Crawley 30, Duckett 9) England have done well to spread the field so there’s an easy single down the ground for Crawley and another for Duckett through a vacant mid-wicket. Crawley then leans into a sumptuous cover drive. Didn’t try to belt it, just an effortless push that skips away for four. He’s looking good so far.

7th over: 33-0 (Crawley 25, Duckett 8) Outstanding batting from Crawley. He starts this Patel over by getting down low and paddling a couple down to fine leg. Then, when Patel gives it a bit of air, England’s opener skips down the track and, with a gorgeous swing of the bat, pops him over the rope at long-on for six. A nudge off the pads gets Duckett on strike who closes the over with a thumping reverse sweep in front of square. England aren’t going to let India’s spinners settle into a rhythm. This is great stuff!

6th over: England 20-0 (Crawley 16, Duckett 4) Crawley gets the reverse away. He doesn’t quite time it, it’s more off the toe than the middle, but he gets a big stride at it and manages to have a proper swing of the arms through the shot so it scampers away for four in front of square. Three singles elsewhere means that’s a relatively costly over from Ashwin. England’s batters are starting to find their groove. Been an impressive show so far.

5th over: England 13-0 (Crawley 10, Duckett 3) Spin from both ends with Patel replacing Bumrah. Duckett welcomes him into the attack but unfurling an outrageous reverse sweep to a ball that pitched outside leg stump. It spits and turns and evades both bat and the stumps behind him. What would WG Grace make of this? A more conventional prod forward gets Duckett a single on the on side and Crawley gets one of his own with a nudge towards point.

4th over: England 11-0 (Crawley 9, Duckett 2) Oooh, forward short leg was in business as Crawley’s forward push ballooned into space in front of the wicket. Did it clip the bat or was it just pad. The fielders were interested so I’m guessing there was some wood involved. Ashwin giving it a bit of air which I like to see. Duckett squeezes a single to get back up the other end.

3rd over: England 10-0 (Crawley 9, Duckett 1) Quality from Crawley. Just a hint of width and that’s all he needs to lean into a gorgeous back-foot punch through the covers. He timed the leather off that one. Bumrah follows it up with a slower ball and keeps things tight for the rest of the over.

2nd over: England 6-0 (Crawley 5, Duckett 1) Crawley gets out the reverse sweep and collects four down to deep third. He wasn’t fully in control as it bounced a bit on him and caught the top edge, but he got enough on it to get it to the fence. Duckett looked less secure. One booming sweep misses everything, though not his off-stump by much. And a prod off the inside edge had the man at short leg interested for just a moment. Ashwin won’t ind the attacking intent.

Spin to open from the other end. Ashwin will bowl to Ducket with a slip and a short leg.

1st over: England 0-0 (Crawley 9, Ducket 0) Bumrah starts by angling the ball into Crawley, testing his defence. He then gets one to hold its line from a good length around the fourth stump. That’s a nice looking delivery. Back into Crawley who is comfortably behind it and then thwacked on the thigh-pad as the final ball spits a little off the deck. Maiden to start.

Bumrah’s got the new rock in his hand. Crawley is facing up. Two slips and a gully. A standard ring filed elsewhere. Away we go!

Here’s the one that started the slide. What do you reckon? Bat or pad first? I still can’t decide. I think whatever the on field decision was would have stood.

India lead by 190. I tell you what. If those three wickets are anything to go by, England will have to bat incredibly well, with a whole lot of discipline and a heap of good luck, just to clear the deficit.

Root was great and Amhed benefited from what was an ugly swipe in the end from Patel, but three wickets for no runs on a sub-continent track can raise alarm bells. No doubt about it. It’s starting to keep low.

WICKET! Patel b Ahmed 44 (India all-out 436)

England have cleaned ‘em up this morning. That was close to a half-trcker from the leggie and Patel leaned back as he looked to swipe it away on the leg side. But it barely lifted and clattered the stumps. No half-century for Patel but the Indian spinners won’t mind that. By the looks of it this pitch is starting to offer up some dead spots.

What’s the opposite of a silver lining?

120th over: India 436-9 (Patel 44, Soraj 0) No hat-trick for Root as Siraj’s defensive prod is up to the task. England’s former skipper has been head and shoulders their best bowler and he has bagged a deserving four-for. Can’t see Siraj hanging about so maybe Patel might throw his bat about.

Leach has been hoiked after just one over so Ahmed will come into the attack.

WICKET! Bumrah b Root 0 (India 436-9)

First ball! Root is on a hat-trick! Full outside the off stump, it turned back into the right hander. Perhaps kept a little low but Bumrah was in no position to play that as it squeezed under his poke from the crease.

WICKET! Jadeja lbw Root 87 (India 436-8)

GOT HIM! Excellent from Root. That round-armed action managed to get the ball to skid and Jadeja was tentatively forward. Some debate over whether the ball hit the pad or bat first. It looked like it might have been simultaneous but the third umpire has stuck with his colleague’s decision on the field. Ball tracking shows it would have clipped the bails and that’s good enough to end a quality knock and hand England their first scalp of the morning.

Updated

The finger has gone up! Root from round the wicket with a round-armed action has hit Jadeja’s pad. He’s been goven but reviews immediately. Stand by….

119th over: India 436-7 (Jadeja 87, Patel 44) Leach starts from over the wicket. He’s too full with his first ball and Jadeja can slap a single down the ground. Some lovely drift to Patel – who has a slip on either side of the wicket to contend with – prods without conviction. But Leach over pitches again and Patel leans into a wonderful cover drive, spanking that half-volley for four. There’s another juicy floater outside the off-stump. Two boundaries to welcome Leach into the attack. Poor bowling really. There are only two fielders on the off-side at cover and mid-off so that’s a gimme for the batter.

“Good morning from a steamy far south of India, where unseasonal rains are playing havoc with the dirt tracks under my bicycle tyres.”

Good morning to you Martin Wright. Thanks for joining me.

“England could do with a touch of them today. What will they do without Leach? Maybe get Tom Hartley to have a crewcut, don some small round spectacles and clean them in between deliveries. Anything’s worth a try...”

Haha, if Leach goes for some tap here, thety might just give that a go.

Leach replaces Wood. We’ll soon find out how that knee of his holding up. Will India look to target him?

118th over: India 427-7 (Jadeja 86, Patel 36) Root from round the wicket. He managed to get some lovely turn and bounce away from the left-handed Patel in the previous over. He’s finding a nice area now, around the fourth stump on a full length. Patience is the name of the game here. A slip and a short mid-on are the catchers in place. Patel isn’t interesting in taking him on. He’s happy to lean forward and prod with soft hands. Another maiden.

117th over: India 427-2 (Jadeja 86, Patel 36) Wood continues. He’s skidding it around a fifth/sixth stump line trying to tempt Jadeja into a prod. The batter isn’t biting and he’s letting it go. Just one slip – hovering around fourth in the cordon – means that’s probably not the right line. Wood then switches to round the wicket and finds a better angle into Jadeja who is solid on defence. A bounce to finish the maiden has Wood off his feet. He does that a lot actually.

116th over: India 427-7 (Jadeja 85, Patel 35) I’VE MISSED A FEW OVERS! I’m so sorry. No idea how that’s happened. And I woke up early as well!

Anyway, luckily for me not much has happened. Wood started the day and has sent down three overs. Root has likewise bowled three. Six runs have been scored so far.

Apologies for that. We’re back on track now.

Here’s a closer shot of Leach’s knee. Is this the equivalent of when Glenn McGrath stood on a ball back in 2005? Probably not. But Leach is the leading spinner and therefore, given the way the team is set up, England’s leading bowler.

Can’t help but feel that got their tactics all wrong. They’ll need Leach back as soon as possible. If not for this Test then at least for the start of the second.

Here’s more on Jack Leach’s troubles:

Poor ol’ Jack Leach. He bowled just 16 overs as he made his return from a lower-back stress. It’s not what England wanted from their leading spinner and a jarred knee prevented him from doing any more. It remains to be seen if he’ll take part today.

It was Republic Day in India yesterday, and their batters certainly came to the party.

Read Ali Martin’s report here:

Preamble

Day three. They call it a moving day. A day when the game’s fate coalesces into view through the haze and everything that came before starts to make sense.

England will need this one to move in a markedly different direction from the course it has taken so far. A whopping 175 runs behind and staring a chastening entry into this five Test series, the good news is that it can’t get much worse than this.

The decision to selection three spinners – two of them rookies – has backfired. Especially with Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed haemorrhaging runs at 5.24 and 4.56 runs an over respectively. Joe Root has looked good though, bowling with a mix of control and penetration. I’d expect the former skipper to play the leading role with the ball this morning.

Of course, it’s not just English inadequacy that has brought us here. India have been imperious. First with the ball to bundle their guests out for 246 – a score that many tried to pass off as about par – and then with the bat as a trio of 80-plus scores has taken them to 421-7.

One of those octogenarian knocks belongs to Ravindra Jadeja who will resume not-out on 81. With a batting average of 35.94 and a bowling average of 24.07, while also being an absolute gun fielder, he is firmly entrenched as one of great all-rounders of the modern era.

Alongside him is Axar Patel who closed yesterday’s play by spanking Hartley for a four, then a six and then another four to head to the shed on 35.

This partnership of 63 has likely taken the contest beyond England’s reach. But if Ben Stokes’ boys can go bang-bang-bang, and get some scores of their own, well, this is a side that has made a habit of procuring remarkable wins.

Play gets going at 4:30am UK time/10am in India. I’m going to dash and brew a much needed cup of coffee and will be back shortly with some build-up bits and bobs.

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