How India fought back on Day 3 courtesy: Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja

India fought back on Day 3 courtesy: their bowlers. Let’s take a look at how the day panned out.

Day 3: First Session:

India strike early: Starting the day on 207/2, England added 18 more runs to their overnight score as India struck early courtesy- Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav as they dismissed both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. With these 2 quick wickets, 207/2 swiftly became 225/4.

Jasprit Bumrah struck early for India on Day 3 as he dismissed Joe Root for 18 runs
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

Kuldeep Yadav was his partner in crime as he dismissed Jonny Bairstow for a duck. He also dismissed Ben Duckett for 153 runs to finish with a brace
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

But, the question now is:

Question:

Why did England lose their way?

Answer:

Since there wasn’t any help for the pacers from the pitch, Jasprit Bumrah and co. resorted to slower balls which helped in getting Root’s wicket as he ramped a fuller ball straight to Jaiswal at slip. On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav got Jonny Bairstow LBW with an in spinner since the pitch had started to deteriorate.

Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes rebuild: After losing 2 quick wickets, Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes rebuild for England with a 35 run stand for the fifth wicket. With this stand, the score moved to 260/4.

After losing two quick wickets, Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes rebuild for England with a 35 run stand for the fifth wicket
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

But, the question that arises is:

Question:

Why did India let the advantage slip?

Answer:

While the ball was turning for the spinners, it wasn’t alarming at all and the pitch was still good for batting overall with no help for the pacers whatsoever.

Kuldeep Yadav strikes again: After dismissing Jonny Bairstow, Kuldeep Yadav struck again as he dismissed Ben Duckett for 153 runs. With this wicket, the score moved to 260/5. But, the question now is:

Question:

Why did Duckett get out?

Answer:

To be honest, India got his wicket against the run of play as it was a short and wide ball from Kuldeep Yadav and Duckett hit it straight to Shubman Gill at cover.

Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes take England to Lunch: An unbeaten 30 run stand between Stokes and Foakes took England to Lunch with the score reading 290/5 and both batters unbeaten on 39 and 6 respectively with England still trailing by 155 runs. But, the question now is:

Question:

Why couldn’t India take more wickets?

Answer:

While the ball was gripping and turning, both batters took full advantage of the lose deliveries from Kuldeep and Siraj and put them away to the boundary.

Day 3: Second Session:

England suffer stunning collapse: The second session on Day 3 saw England slip from 290/5 to 319/10 as they lost 5 wickets for 29 runs.

Mohammed Siraj was the star for India in the post lunch session as he added 3 more wickets to his tally and finished with a four fer
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

He was supported well by Ravindra Jadeja as he too finished with a brace to his name
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

But, the question now is:

Question:

Why did England lose the plot?

Answer:

Well, Stokes (41 runs) tried to be too agressive against Jadeja on a turning pitch and paid the price as he holed out to Bumrah. He also deceived Hartley with an away turner to get him stumped. While Siraj on the other hand, went to the tried and tested yorker on a flat pitch to get rid of Rehan Ahmed and James Anderson while he deceived Foakes with a slower ball to finish with a four fer while Jadeja and Kuldeep bagged two each. This collapse saw India take a 126 run lead.

India Second Innings:

India start well: India started well in their second innings as their openers- Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal put on 30 runs for the first wicket. But, the question now is:

Question:

Why did England let it slip?

Answer:

Already on the back foot, England couldn’t take wickets as their bowlers bowled too short or too full deliveries on which the batters cashed in.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill take India to Tea: Yashasvi Jaiswal (19*) and Shubman Gill (5*) took India to tea with the score reading 44/1 and India leading by 170 runs. Although Rohit got out LBW for 19 runs off Root, both Jaiswal and Gill ensured that there were no further problems for India.

Joe Root dismissed Rohit Sharma for 19 runs to end a 30 run opening stand
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

Day 3: Third Session:

India dominate: The final session on Day 3 saw India dominate proceedings with a 161 run stand between Jaiswal, Gill and Rajat Patidar (Jaiswal got out retired hurt on 104, so he can still bat tomorrow). This session also saw Jaiswal bring up his 3rd Test hundred.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill shared a 161 run stand for the second wicket. This stand also included Rajat Patidar after Yashasvi Jaiswal got out retired hurt for 104
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

Yashasvi Jaiswal's third test hundred saw India take control after bowlers ran through England's batting order
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-in-india-2023-24-1389386/india-vs-england-3rd-test-1389401/match-photo

But, the question now is:

Question:

Why couldn’t England take wickets?

Answer:

As mentioned above, too short or too full deliveries were put away by Indian batters which pushed England on the back foot.

Shubman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav take India to Stumps: Shubman Gill (65*) and Kuldeep Yadav (3*) took India to Stumps with the score reading 196/2 and India leading by 322 runs. Even though Rajat Patidar got out, Gill ensured that there were no further hiccups for India.

As seen from the above analysis, England let the advantage slip and they collapsed after their captain tried to be too aggressive against one of the best all rounders in Ravindra Jadeja. England will need to fight hard and make a contest out of it and they can as the pitch is still good for batting. India, on the other hand, would be pleased with their efforts and would like to carry on.

Brief Scores:

India First Innings: 445/10 (Rohit Sharma- 131, Ravindra Jadeja- 112, Sarfaraz Khan- 62, Dhruv Jurel- 46, Ashwin- 37, Mark Wood- 4/114, Rehan Ahmed- 2/85, James Anderson- 1/61, Tom Hartley- 1/109, Joe Root- 1/70)

England First Innings: 319/10 (Ben Duckett- 153, Ben Stokes- 41, Ollie Pope- 39, Mohammed Siraj- 4/84, Kuldeep Yadav- 2/77, Ravindra Jadeja- 2/51, Ashwin- 1/37)

India Second Innings: 196/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal- 104, Shubman Gill- 65*, Joe Root- 1/48, Tom Hartley- 1/42)

Note: I do not own any of these images. The credit for these images goes to espncricinfo.com. These images have been used to show what happened during the game.