England face an uphill battle to save the match after being suffocated by spin on an exhilarating second day in Visakhapatnam
Here’s our report:
Related: India’s Ravi Ashwin makes England pay after Hameed run out sparks collapse
This, as somebody once said, is the real quiz. After six-and-a-half days of illusory equality, England were suffocated by spin in an exhilarating final session. A score of 103 for five would not suggest as much, but England batted extremely well at times in seriously difficult circumstances. India were quite brilliant - with the ball, in the field, with DRS – and will surely win this game at some stage over the next three days. Thanks for your company, night.
49th over: England 103-5 (Stokes 12, Bairstow 12)Ashwin persuades Kohli to give him the last over of the day and thus replaces Shami. Bairstow hustles a short delivery, a carrom ball I think, through midwicket for his first boundary. After a very nervous start, he and Stokes have played really well to make it through to the close, an admirable effort in the face of inevitable defeat.
48th over: England 96-5 (Stokes 12, Bairstow 6) Jayant Yadav (6-3-7-1) returns to the attack in place of Jadeja (15-3-38-0). Stokes blooters a couple through the covers off the back foot to move into double figures.
47th over: England 94-5 (Stokes 9, Bairstow 6) Bairstow leaves a reverse inswinger from Shami that passes dangerously close to the off stump. There are seven minutes remaining, so probably two more overs.
46th over: England 93-5 (Stokes 8, Bairstow 6) Another maiden from Jadeja. Relatively speaking, Stokes and Bairstow look comfortable at the moment.
“Ian Bell might support Villa, but he was born in Coventry,” writes
Ian Bell Ian Forth. “Mysteriously he didn’t make Coventry’s Walk of Fame Shortlist however, cruelly elbowed out by John Thornton, medieval glass painter. Tom Cartwright made it, though.” What about Micky Gynn?
45th over: England 93-5 (Stokes 8, Bairstow 6) Shami has returned to the attack. He bowled Alastair Cook with a stunning delivery in the afternoon session; as Mike Atherton says on Sky, that started all this. I suspect Stokes and Bairstow will be pleased to see him at this stage, however, and Stokes plays out a maiden. Stokes has eight from 44 balls; Bairstow six from 27.
44th over: England 93-5 (Stokes 8, Bairstow 6) Stokes survives a review for caught behind after a good delivery from Jadeja. The bowler Jadeja was celebrating as Rod Tucker went upstairs, but replays showed it missed the outside edge and the only noise was bat on boot. Stokes is fighting so hard to survive until the close.
“Your reference to Jasper Carrott (35th over) led me to meander through a few websites until I found myself looking at the Birmingham Walk of Stars, on which Mr Carrott features,” writes
Jasper Carrott Andrew Miles. “Although Black Sabbath are well represented among the other Birmingham stalwarts, I was struck by the absence of cricketers, with only Dennis Amiss to make the grade. Although Bob Willis, Ashley Giles and Tim Munton would be worthy of this accolade, I am mystified by the absence of local boy and sledgehammer of eternal justice, the Duke of Bellington himself, Ian Bell. And before you point out that he wasn’t born in Birmingham, neither was Trevor Francis, and he’s got a star. Can the Guardian start a campaign to get this wrong righted?” I think we have a specialist campaign team; I’ll get them onto it.
43rd over: England 91-5 (Stokes 7, Bairstow 5) Stokes gets a loose delivery from Jayant and clatters it through the covers for his first boundary.
“The Carrott sitcom is a memory that has sat dormant for decades,” says Mark Lewis. “Thanks for that. Pretty sure I remember an episode which involved Subbuteo...? If memory serves, Carrott and Powell were pretty decent. Sounds implausible, but then so did East17.”
42nd over: England 87-5 (Stokes 3, Bairstow 5) Stokes and Bairstow are exhilarating counter-attackers. But right here, right now, it’s as much as they can do to survive. At the end of another Jadeja maiden, they have eight from 53 balls between them.
“Dear Rob,” says Amod Paranjape, before getting down to brass tacks. “Come on Ian Copestake. Say something again. Please.”
41th over: England 87-5 (Stokes 3, Bairstow 5) Stokes is bowled by Yadav – but the bails stay on. He tried to force one through the off side and the ball skidded on to hit the top of the off-and-middle bail. That bail decided to do the Mannequin Challenge at the worst possible time for India.
“Think that sitcom was The Detectives,” says my man Dan Lucas. “I remember it being good, but there was one episode centred around them trying to remember all 19 suffixes in the football league teams. They all ended up being words associated with the case they were solving (“The body was found at the north end of the pond ... Oh north end!”). It probably wasn’t actually very funny thinking about it.”
40th over: England 87-5 (Stokes 3, Bairstow 5) There are 38 minutes remaining. India will finish their overs in time, and should get an extra two or three in depending on how many breaks there are for the fall of a wicket. Jadeja replaces Ashwin, and that’s all I’m going to tell you until you put more money in the meter.
“Tuffers and Vaughan allocated a large part of Monday night’s show on 5 live to laughing at Australia’s all out 85 against South Africa,” says Stephen Lusher. “This innings will be better but people in glass houses should be aware of the fragility of this English batting line up.”
39th over: England 85-5 (Stokes 3, Bairstow 3) Your Test debut is supposed to be a nervous, often miserable experience; it certainly was for me. But it’s not for Jayant Yadav, who is bowling on a helpful pitch with his team in total control and can actually enjoy himself. An excellent maiden to Stokes gives him figures of 4-2-3-1. IS THERE NO BLOODY ESCAPING FOOTBALL?
38th over: England 85-5 (Stokes 3, Bairstow 3)“You are absolutely right this is no time for eejitery,” says Lee Smith. “After all this isEngland. Two parts brilliant, one part responsible for launching a surface to air missile at the metatarsals. Even if you’re not fond of a gasper it might time for one of these moments.”
37th over: England 83-5 (Stokes 1, Bairstow 1) The offspinner Yadav is bowling beautifully. He skids one past Bairstow, who is oozing impermanence at the start of his innings. He drives the last ball a fraction short of the bowler Yadav. It’s worth saying, which is why I’m going to say it, that Kohli has been majestic today – not necessarily in his fielding positions, but in the way he has directed the theatre of the England collapse. He has played the crowd, celebrated wildly at the fall of each wicket, and generally swaggered round like he is in total control of everything that happens.
“Hi Rob,” says Doug Morrison. “There are so many things that I don’t understand (why hasn’t Kenny Dalglish been knighted and so on), and I don’t expect you to explain all of them to me, but maybe you can tell me why Joe Root has just been dismissed on TMS and he was dismissed in your estimable OBO 11 minutes ago.”
35th over: England 80-5 (Stokes 1, Bairstow 0) So much for getting through the first 20 balls in India: Moeen was out to the 21st. This is great to watch, not least as it provides all kinds of Proustian rushes related to February 1993: Eric Cantona, East 17’s romantic ballad Deep, navigating the mean streets of Sittingbourne after Friday night 5-a-side, that comedy show with Jasper Carrott and Robert Powell that probably wasn’t nearly as funny as it seemed at the time.
An excellent review from India brings the fifth wicket. Moeen came down the track to Yadav and was hit on the front pad as he attempted to play defensively. It was given not out but India reviewed. It looked close, and Hawkeye showed it would have skidded on to hit leg stump. Moeen was a long way down but that is increasingly irrelevant. He has gone for a 21-ball one, and England, on the seventh day of the series, are suffering the expected death by spin. That’s Yadav’s first Test wicket from only his eighth delivery.
34th over: England 80-4 (Moeen 1, Stokes 1) Stokes, pushing outside the line, survives a big LBW appeal from Ashwin. I would have reviewed that. Virat Kohli, to his great credit, is not me: it was missing by a mile. Stokes looks a little flustered, as you’d expect in the first 20 balls.
33rd over: England 80-4 (Moeen 1, Stokes 1) India are all over England now, and this could all go very 1992-93 in the next hour. The offspinner Jayant Yadav comes on to bowl for the first time. Moeen sleepwalks down the track, doesn’t get to the pitch and aborts the stroke. A good first over from Yadav.
“Morning Rob,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Looks like what you said about them all deserving MBEs should they win is justified. Somewhere in Buck Pally there’s a footman putting a key back into an old cupboard to re-lock it. You said that you didn’t think that Hameed’s swaying reminded you of Cowdrey, that you were thinking of a more modern player. Can you not remember how modern he was, that fine collection of pleats along the top of his trousers? Looked like a pair of curtains with a belt at the top.” At the risk of bantz, I literally wasn’t born when he played his last Test.
32nd over: England 79-4 (Moeen 1, Stokes 0) That was a poor stroke from Root but that’s what pressure does. At times like this, as foam lands on keyboards up and down the land, we should remember the Guardian mantra: empathy not eejitry.
Root gloves a malevolent delivery from Ashwin through the vacant leg-slip area for four and then plonks a low full toss into the leg side for two. He almost miscued that to Kohli at midwicket. That can happen when you are under siege. The brain gets scrambled - and Root has demonstrated that with an Andrex-soft dismissal. He charged Ashwin and sliced an attempted drive towards deep mid-off, where Umesh Yadav backpedalled to take a good catch.
31st over: England 77-3 (Root 51, Moeen 1) Root laps Jadeja for two reach his fifty, a really brilliant performance in the circumstances. He is disgustingly good. It’s so easy to get lost in the present, to be a xenophobe to the past, but Root might be the best England batsman most of us have ever seen.
“I don’t want to be negative,” says Ian Copestake, “but this is a bit like watching an operation on a patient for whom there is no hope.” And a bloody four-day operation at that.
30th over: England 74-3 (Root 48, Moeen 1) Moeen is beaten by a stunning delivery from Ashwin that curves seductively onto off stump and then roars past the outside edge of Moeen’s defensive stroke. So this is the Ravi Ashwin we heard so much about.
Yes, yes I know I missed the 29th over. Life moves pretty fast: if you stop and look around once in a while, you could miss an over.
28th over: England 72-3 (Root 47, Moeen 0) Duckett has an obvious technical issue, with his front foot nowhere near the line of the ball, and that’s why he keeps getting in trouble with the offspinner. It was a good delivery from Ashwin, turning from leg and middle to hit middle and off, but Duckett was out in similar fashion in Rajkot and England might decide to give him a time-out after this Test.
“Good Afternoon Rob,” says Mahendra Killedar. “So that run out mean the Still-New kid on the block (ref over No. 19) has kept this wannabe New kid on the block well bolted in stable!” The Copestake witchcraft strikes again.
This wicket felt inevitable. Not for the first time, Duckett plays down the wrong line to the off spinner and is cleaned up.
27th over: England 72-2 (Root 47, Duckett 5) Jadeja rags a beast past Root’s outside edge. (Try explaining that sentence to a non-cricket fan.) That, as we have said, makes the straight one even more dangerous, and later in the over Root is almost beaten on the inside. He gets a last-gasp inside-edge that saves him from being plumb LBW. This is great stuff.
“Permission to be a bit devastated that Hameed got stiffed there?” says Guy Hornsby. “England are pretty much in the mire now, and 455 feels a very long way away. Imagine being Ben Duckett though, eh? What pressure, sorry, opportunity.”
26th over: England 72-2 (Root 47, Duckett 5) Another over, another near miss. Root feels for a sharply spun off-break from Ashwin that beats everything and everyone, bouncing over the stumps and through Saha for four byes. This is a classic subcontinent challenge for England. I’m not sure they have any chance of saving the game but a young team will learn so much from their admittedly futile endeavours. They’ve done really well so far, Root and Hameed in particular. I thought Hameed played beautifully in the circumstances.
25th over: England 67-2 (Root 46, Duckett 5) Root is beaten by a Jadeja delivery that almost shaves the off stump. Root almost pulled out of the stroke, because somebody ran behind the bowler’s arm just as it was being delivered. Root has a word with Dharmasena, but it isn’t called dead ball. so he would have been out had it hit the off stump. Jadeja has a gully for Root now, but the horse is long gone, gallivanting friskily with other erotically-minded horses. Root works four to fine leg and then survives an optimistic shout for LBW. It was going down.
24th over: England 60-2 (Root 42, Duckett 3) This is an important innings for Duckett. We are going to see plenty of him over the next decade, but in the short term this particular kitchen might be too hot for him. He defends well against Ashwin in that over.
“You can tell Lee Smith that I won’t apologise for using capitals,” says Felix Wood. “To not do so would look crazy, especially if commenting on the OBO about an LBW decided by DRS. We can’t all be e.e. cummings.”
23rd over: England 60-2 (Root 40, Duckett 2) For the second time in 15 minutes, Root edges Jadeja straight through the vacant gully area for four. Given the match situation, the lack of a gully verges on the bizarre.
22nd over: England 54-2 (Root 36, Duckett 2) The new batsman Duckett is almost dismissed by a beauty from Ashwin that loops over the keeper for a couple. It hit something, and replays show it was an inside-edge onto the pad.
21st over: England 51-2 (Root 36, Duckett 0) There was a nice touch from Hameed as he walked off. He smashed his bat into the ground, just another little reminder that, in the parlance of our time, he has got it. Replays show that Root did originally call for the second, and then sent Hameed back. It was incredibly good work from both Yadav, who threw from the boundary while falling backwards, and Saha, who took the ball in front of the stumps and whipped the bails off blind.
Oh, no. Hameed has been run out after a mix-up with Root. It started when Root worked the ball towards the square-leg boundary and set off for a single. Hameed wanted a second, Root didn’t, and a combination of a superb throw by the debutant Yadav and some nifty work by Saha meant Hameed was run out with recourse to the third umpire.
20th over: England 48-1 (Hameed 12, Root 34)Spin at both ends = OBOer hell.
19th over: England 47-1 (Hameed 12, Root 33) Root is beaten all ends up by a grubber that goes under the bat and just misses the off stump. By the time he finished his desperate defensive stroke, Root was doubled up like an octogenarian with a surfeit of wind. That leads to a slightly panicky stroke next ball: Root comes down the track and edges through the vacant gully area for four.
“This innings is all about Root in my humble one,” says Ian Copestake. “A perfect moment for him to remind everyone that he is still the new kid on the block and not to be outdone by all these wannabe 19-year-olds.”
18th over: England 40-1 (Hameed 11, Root 27) Ashwin continues around the wicket to Hameed, who calmly flamingos a single to long on. Even in an innings of 11 from 47 balls, Hameed has reinforced the perception that he is going to make a million Test runs. There’s something about this wispy 19-year-old that is thrilling.
17th over: England 36-1 (Hameed 10, Root 24) Jadeja has a huge LBW shout against Root turned down from the first ball of the session. Root worked around a straight one that hit him in front of leg stump. Replays show it was ‘umpire’s call’, so Kumar Dharmasena’s decision would have stood even if they had reviewed. As Nasser says on Sky, the appeal is so important because so many decisions are umpire’s call. England have scored 11 from the last seven overs. The net is closing around them.
“I can’t tell if Felix Wood (15th over) is extracting the urine or is mainlining triple espresso,” says Lee Smith, erroneously assuming the two to be mutually exclusive. “Plus, surely it is a bit early in the morning to be employing capitals?”
“Possibly Colin Cowdrey?” says John Starbuck of the Hameed sway (see over 14). “He used to sway out of the way quite imperturbably, especially against the West Indian quicks - though they did get him in the end, if a broken arm counts as being got.”
I was definitely thinking of a modern batsman. Might be Hashim Amla actually. That’s not racist.
That was a high-class mini-session, with both sides playing superbly. Mohammed Shami’s delivery to dismiss Alastair Cook, and snap his off stump, was a monstrous jaffa; after that, Hameed and Root played beautifully on a pitch that is already offering some dangerous low bounce. See you in 15 minutes for the evening session with Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley.
16th over: England 34-1 (Hameed 9, Root 23) Ashwin comes on for the last over before tea. He currently averages over 50 against England with the ball. That statistic might get a nice massage in the next three days. Root squirts him for a single, and Ashwin goes straight around the wicket to Hameed. That’s the angle from which he dismissed him in Rajkot, and sometimes Hameed seems to almost lose the line of the ball. The last ball of the over - and the session - pops a little from the pitch and Hameed pulls his glove away to ensure it does not travel to short leg.
15th over: England 33-1 (Hameed 9, Root 22) Hameed is defending diligently against Jadeja. He doesn’t have many scoring options at the moment, but that’s okay in the circumstances. One of the most exciting things about Hameed is that he seems able to adjust his approach pretty easily. That’s a rare skill to have. That said, I doubt he’ll ever top the magnificent AB de Villiers, who made 33 from 220 balls (with no boundaries) to save the Adelaide Test of 2012, and then panelled 169 from 184 to win the Perth Test and the series a few days later.
“Good morning Rob,” says Felix Wood. “What do you think is the minimum score for England to make a game of this? Given the way the pitch is going, I’m thinking anything less that 550 is going to be tough. Which leads me to this second question: Who is to blame for England’s DISGRACEFUL performance and should be SACKED immediately?”
14th over: England 32-1 (Hameed 9, Root 21) Shami has switched ends to replace Yadav. He has started to test Hameed against the short ball; so far, so good for this adorable cross between Max Fischer, Geoff Boycott and Gary Neville. He ducks well, swaying decisively outside the line in a manner that reminds me of someboDY AND I CAN’T BLOODY REMEMBER WHO IT IS, though he hasn’t taken on the hook or pull yet.
“The only way to follow England is to be uncomfortable - they’ll make you feel that way anyway,” says Andrew Benton. “Currently, I’ve a bit of a sniffle, a headache, a bad knee and I keep popping to the loo, so if we lose I’ll still be miserable, and if we win, it’ll all be worth the suffering.”
13th over: England 30-1 (Hameed 7, Root 21) Breaking news: Ray Winstone gambles responsibly. Meanwhile, Jadeja gets one to spit past Hameed’s outside edge. Those balls are so important because they make his killer straight delivery even deadlier. This is fascinating cricket; Hameed and Root have done extremely well in trying circumstances, and they are 10 minutes away from a nice cup of tea.
“While we are waiting for the inevitable England collapse,” says Sara Torvalds, “you could do worse than read fellow OBOer Sam Tarr’s excellent report on the OBOccasionals 2016 tour to Vis in Croatia.”
12th over: England 28-1 (Hameed 6, Root 19) For was it not Chris Martin who said: Nobody said it was easy. This sure ain’t easy for England. India are attacking the pads and the stumps relentlessly, which means England have to play almost every delivery. Root has already jabbed down on low-bouncing deliveries four or five times.
11th over: England 26-1 (Hameed 6, Root 18) Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack. His DRS-friendly approach should make him an enormous threat on this pitch. If part of the scorecard does not read ‘LBW b Jadeja’ by the end of this match, my backside’s a fire engine. The first delivery skids onto Hameed, who gets an inside-edge onto the pad that plops safely on the pitch.
“G’morning, Rob,” says Richard Smyth. “I wondered if the erudite souls who people the OBO might be interested in a cricketing short story I wrote, featured lately in The Nightwatchman. I think it was the second-best piece in that issue written by a man named R Smyth.”
10th over: England 25-1 (Hameed 5, Root 18) More low bounce from Umesh to Root. I knew England should have picked James Kirtley. When Umesh slips one a bit wide, Root pings a classy square drive for four more. He is batting beautifully, but you do fear there’s a low-bouncing delivery with his name on it.
“Apology accepted,” says Brian Withington. “Please comport yourself in a vigilant state of existential dread for rest of our innings ...”
9th over: England 21-1 (Hameed 5, Root 14) Root is beaten outside off stump by Shami. That’s an occupational hazard on this pitch. It’s not a minefield but it’s really tricky for a second-day pitch, especially if you aren’t familiar with low pitches. Shami and Umesh have also bowled superbly. At the other end, Haseeb is leaving at every opportunity, but only on line. You can’t leave on length here. Hameed has five from 29 balls; Root from 14 from 14 balls. Different approaches for different needs.
“One thing you can rely on in life,” says Kevin Wilson. “Joe Root always looks like he’s batting on a different wicket to his teammates.”
8th over: England 20-1 (Hameed 5, Root 13)
7th over: England 20-1 (Hameed 5, Root 13) Root just manages to get his bat down on a nasty grubber from Shami that would otherwise have bowled him. Root has decided to get his runs before the pitch gets him, and he walks down the track to play a magnificent flick that beats the man at deep square-leg and goes for four. When Shami strays onto the pads later in the over, Root puts him away through midwicket with a flourish.
6th over: England 12-1 (Hameed 5, Root 5) Hameed is beaten, feeling for an excellent delivery from Umesh Yadav that moved away off the seam. Umesh is bowling rapidly, over 90mph, and Hameed just manages to work one off middle stump for a single. There would have been a huge LBW appeal had he missed that. This has been a masterful spell of new-ball bowling from India.
5th over: England 9-1 (Hameed 4, Root 3) Shami pings a bouncer past Hameed’s noggin and follows up with a fuller delivery outside off stump that keeps pretty low. Kohli spends the over conducting the crowd; he is a magnificent man.
4th over: England 8-1 (Hameed 4, Root 2) Hameed has started serenely - is that news any more - and flicks two through midwicket. But then he is almost undone by a good delivery that skids on. As Nasser says on Sky, Jadeja is going to be a huge threat on this pitch. India have bowled splendidly thus far.
“Morning Rob,” says David Horn. “So, the second you make yourself comfortable, we dramatically lose a wicket? Hardly an auspicious start to the day.” I can only blame myself. I’ve let the readers down. I’ve let the country down. But what really hurts is that I’ve let myself down.
3rd over: England 6-1 (Hameed 2, Root 2) This already looks very tough for England - there is swing, a bit of seam movement, and tricky low bounce. The ball to dismiss Cook was magnificent: it came back sharply off the seam, went through a biggish gate and then destroyed the off stump.
Morning all. It’s lovely to be in your company once again: talking cricket, chewing fat, partaking in banter. Oh and by the way, Cook has just had his off stump detonated by Shami! It was a brilliant delivery that snapped back off the seam, went through the gate and then snapped the off stump in half!
2nd over: England 4-0 (Cook 2, Hameed 2) Umesh Yadav into Haseeb Hameed, who gets off the mark with one into midwicket off his second ball. Bit of shape into Alastair Cook, as Yadav sticks to over the wicket and that’s Cook off the mark, too. Another for Hameed, into the on side. It’s only three runs so far, but Yadav’s struggle to persist on an off stump like does highlight the value in a decent left-right combo at the top of the order. A similarly placed delivery, just outside off for Cook, is pushed into cover for a fourth single off the over. And with that, I’ll hand over to Rob Smyth to take you through the rest of the day. Thanks for your time.
1st over: England 0-0 (Cook 0, Hameed 0) Mohammad Shami steams in to Alastiar Cook, with two slips (first and third) and a gully for company. Odd really: surely if you’re happy to have a third slip, you should also have a second. Kohli’s basically trying to plug five gaps with three players. Ooooooo and a leading edge, as the ball stops in the pitch, goes beyond Shami but bounces well short of mid off. Maiden.
130th over: India 455-10 (Shami 7) Oh my... the 450 comes up as Shami larrups Rashid over mid off for a huge six. A single and then Umesh Yadav tries to put one into the stands at midwicket but is caught in the fence. A second wicket for Rashid and that’s that for the Indian first innings. Your move, England...
129th over: India 448-9 (Umesh 13, Shami 0) Where Jayant Yadav failed, Umesh makes hay. With the ball turning into him, the strapping quick swipes to midwicket for four, beating the two fielders out in the deep. He goes again, skewing this one squarer but for the same result.
128th over: India 440-9 (Umesh 5) Adil Rashid, tailender slayer, comes into the attack. And he’s in business with the last ball of the over as Jayant falls, slogging.
A bit of air, a swipe across the line and Rashid has his first wicket of the innings. Jayant Yadav’s debut Test knock brings valuable runs and ends with a fairly comical attempted hoik to leg which ends up in Anderson’s hands at point.
127th over: India 438-8 (Jayant 33, Umesh 5) After beating the outside edge of Umesh’s bat, Moeen tosses one up that is muscled down the ground, inside mid on, for four. It’s a cruel game.
126th over: India 433-8 (Jayant 32, Umesh 1) Nice on drive from Jayant gets him three runs, allowing Umesh to take the strike and get off the mark with a tap around the corner.
Most catches by WK in a year:
65 M Boucher (1998)
59 J BAIRSTOW *
58 I Healy (1993)
58 A Gilchrist (2004)
56 M Boucher (2008)#INDvENG
125th over: India 428-8 (Jayant 28, Umesh 0) Jayant happy to give Umesh Yadav a few deliveries against Moeen Ali. Umesh, blank-batted, s
hows the maker’s name
defends.
Helluva Cricketer - @benstokes38
124th over: India 427-8 (Jayant 27, Umesh 0) A slower ball – actually, just a god awful bit of slurge down the leg side – is helped on its way for four. Ashwin has passed 500 runs against England, as it happens, from eight matches, and is currently averaging over fifty (56.56 briefly, with 58* to his name). Make that 50.90 now that he’s nicked off.
A deserved wicket for Stokes, who pushes Ashwin back and then gets him playing outside off stump and nicking through to the keeper. A fine innings comes to an end.
It's bloody cold in London @Vitu_E. What I'd give for another 2 hours in bed, day off, three quick wickets & a 150 opening stand. Dreaming.
123rd over: India 423-7 (Ashwin 54, Jayant 27) Just one from the over and a relatively sedate start to this second session. Time is all these two need.
122nd over: India 422-7 (Ashwin 53, Jayant 27) Good pace from Stokes and he has an appeal to keep him going, albeit one that ends prematurely once he and those behind the stumps realise the ball was edged onto the pad. And again with the penultimate ball of the over. Jayant Yadav not able to press forward as much as he would like. Maiden.
@vitu_e As is well known the town of Nelson was named after Nelson Bloemfontein, a philanthropist, but they couldn't have 2 Bloemfonteins...
121st over: India 422-7 (Ashwin, Jayant 27) Moeen Ali takes the ball at the other end and bowls in Ashwin’s slot – short, wide of off stump. A cut through backward point for a fifth four takes Ashwin to his eighth Test fifty, from 86 deliveries. What a year he’s having: two hundreds and two fifties so far, not to mention a job lot of wickets.
120th over: India 416-7 (Ashwin 48, Jayant 26) Ben Stokes to kick England off after lunch, bowling to Ashwin, who punches to the off-side sweeper to move to 48. Just one from the over. Philip Gooda is back with us: “Now it has tipped over past seven in the morning (I am one hour ahead of those lazy layabeds of London), my ‘Significant Other’ has awoken and I can make all sorts of noise now. Which includes pounding on my keyboard a lot, and swearing at my brother’s reply to an email and things like that. And I found this. I do so hope it helps.” *This* is a Wikipedia page containing all the possible reasons for the 111-Nelson connection. Speaking of which, India are approaching quadruple Nelson.
News just in: South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been charged for breaching Level 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct. It relates to a clip that emerged a couple of days ago of Faf shining the ball while sucking on a mint.
Du Plessis charged for breaching ICC CoC after TV footage appeared to show him applying an artificial substance to the ball
South Africans standing shoulder to shoulder in defense of Faf du Plessis. Clearly upset by allegations. #ausvsapic.twitter.com/J4TBdTKsiQ
119th over: India 415-7 (Ashwin 47, Jayant 26) Joe Root is now around the wicket to Ashwin, who takes the single on offer at midwicket. Presumably Root is bowling because Zafar Ansari’s nausea, which had him off the field an hour ago, has not passed. That single, by the way, brings up the 50 partnership off 81 balls. A single from Jayant to square leg followed by similar from Ashwin and that’s all for the over and the session. England took three wickets, India scored 98 runs and, given the context of those runs, you’d give that session to the hosts. I’ll be back soon for the second session, with Rob Smyth taking over at drinks.
118th over: India 412-7 (Ashwin 45, Jayant 25) Stokes has both Ashwin and Jayant hopping about but, with fielders out, the short stuff is largely redundant because neither are keen to hook and there’s no short leg. Stokes follows up with the full delivery that does tail into Jayant, albeit on the full. A good over ends with a boundary as Jayant skews an edge beyond the one slip in place. Not really what Stokes deserved but more runs for India.
117th over: India 407-7 (Ashwin 44, Jayant 21) Ashwin moves into the forties with a nicely timed drive through the covers off the bowling of Joe Root. Yes, Root’s bowling. “Golden arm” Root, with 13 wickets from 49 matches and a strike rate just over 103. Golden Arm. Peter Leybourne weights into the Nelson debate: “I had this exact discussion as a boy in the 1970s. My grandfather explained the Nelson thing to me as one arm, one eye, one ambition.”
116th over: India 401-7 (Ashwin 39, Jayant 20) That’s the 400 up for India. At the start of the day, that was a minimum, then they lost three for 12 and it seemed a long way off Ashwin and Jayant have brought it up easily with their partnership of 38.
115th over: India 398-7 (Ashwin 38, Jayant 18) Ashwin telegraphs a paddle sweep, which has Ben Stokes setting off early from first slip. It’s wide enough for two, though, as fine leg mops up. A couple of deliveries have stopped on the batsmen but, luckily for them, have fallen just short of fielders. You can see how the pitch has changed already in this session. Driving has suddenly become a bit more difficult. Never mind – Ashwin skips forward and across to work Moeen through midwicket for four.
114th over: India 392-7 (Ashwin 32, Jayant 18) Time for some pace, as Rashid makes way after bringing up three figures for nowt. Ben Stokes will get his first bowl of the day. Thankfully, Cook starts him off with two slips. The ball is doing nothing off the straight – no sign of conventional or reverse swing, either. Three singles from the over.
113th over: India 389-7 (Ashwin 30, Jayant 17) Jayant doing well to bat time while also picking off runs when they’re offered up. Again, he’s playing Moeen off the pitch and works him around the corner for a couple. Perhaps an OBO first, certainly on my watch – a pre-formatted email: “I’ve been looking at my atlas. Can anyone tell me why the England squad were asked to fly west from nearby Bangladesh to the far side of India for the Rajkot Test, and then all the way back east for the second here in west coast Vizzy? The other way round would have saved a lot of time in the air. I know, I know, I have too much time on my hands”, admits Wayne Trotman, emailing in from the west coast of Turkey (Wayne’s own work, that).
112th over: India 387-7 (Ashwin 30, Jayant 15) Another short ball, another late cut. This time it’s Rashid the bowler and Jayant the batsman. And it goes for four. Finishes the over with a single and looking comfortable. That’s Rashid’s hundred up, too.
111st over: India 381-7 (Ashwin 29, Jayant 10) Moeen seems to have lost his length here, as Ashwin guides another short ball behind point, this time for a couple. He runs as many in the same direction but Ashwin is hiding his bat behind his pad and that really should have been a dead ball. Cook brings in a fielder under his nose
110th over: India 376-7 (Ashwin 26, Jayant 10) Here’s Philip Gooda with a hot take on Nelson that I’m buying into: “I am given to understand – checking this is beyond me at this time of day, even if I am in Switzerland – that there is a suburb of Sydney called ‘Nelson’. And that furthermore, in the days of local telephone exchanges, telephone numbers in this suburb had the ‘exchange code’ of 111. Rumour? Hearsay? Very Australian anyway so should probably be taken with a pinch of possum poo.”
Impact outside the line, as it happens, even it was pad first. The ball was also turning past off stump.
England ask for a review as Jayant presses forward to Rashid, defends, but looks to have used his pad first...
109th over: India 374-7 (Ashwin 25, Jayant 9) Looks like England are happy to give Ashwin the single, as he plays through their with ease. Jayant now gets in on the act, as Ali drops short and he whips the ball off leg stump, having read the turn off the pitch, for four just in front of square leg. Lovel shot.
Ashwin is India's fourth highest run-getter in Tests this year. #INDvENG
108th over: India 368-7 (Ashwin 24, Jayant 4) Three come through point – two of them to Yadav, who waits for the turn of the pitch to punch nicely. Adil Rashid just needs to zip a couple through to the new batsman.
107th over: India 365-7 (Ashwin 23, Jayant 2) A maiden for Moeen. Ian Forth emails in from Melbourne: “Just backtracking to the Nelson score, some queries. Why is Nelson called Nelson, when he always had two legs? Isn’t ‘double Nelson’ a normal person (two arms, two legs, two eyes)? Why was it ever a thing? I mean, I can see how 87 is unlucky because it’s 13 short of a hundred (a notoriously unlucky number). But why does a national hero with one eye and one arm become an unlucky symbol? He won Trafalgar, didn’t he?” I’m grossly unqualified to answer some if not all of these questions. I’m taking to Google but, to the rest of you, do email in if you know. I’m just as curious.
106th over: India 365-7 (Ashwin 23, Jayant 1) Test newbie Jayant Yadav is in that “no mug with the bat” camp, with two first class centuries to his name, so still some batting out there for India. “An early start. How do you do it?” asks Jeremy Bunting. With great difficulty and a job lot of coffee. “Rob Smyth (Hi Rob!) used to get his Monster Drink over the road at the gas station. Can you give me a couple of reasons why I should stay up for next few days for the inevitable draw?” Because it’ll either be another glorious set of innings from Hameed-Root-Ali-Anderson or some high-class spin bowling from Ashwin. Or there might be another dog on the field.
105th over: India 365-7 (Ashwin 23, Jayant 1) Two wickets in the over, the last of which – Jadeja’s LBW from Moeen Ali bowling around the wicket – was shown to be missing leg stump as it was not straightening enough. Despite having a review remaining, Jadeja opted not to use it.
Ali, around the wicket to the left-hander, gets one to drift on with the arm nd into Ravi Jadeja’s front pad. That’s two in three balls and Jadeja goes for a duck.
Yep, very out. Saha didn’t get forward at all and the ball didn’t have far to travel. The batsmen nearly completed a single by the time umpire Dharamasena made his mind up. Importantly, he got it right.
My word, take your time, Kumar! A big turner from Moeen hits the pads of Saha. After an age, Dharmasena gives it out. Saha, perhaps because of the delay, chooses to review...
104th over: India 363-5 (Ashwin 25, Saha 3) Saha gets off the mark as he works Rashid around the corner for two. Zafar Ansari manages to head the ball off before it reaches the cement-sponsored sponge, passing it off to Stokes who throws in and nearly yorks the keeper’s end’s stumps. Rashid then serves up quite a rank long hop which Saha snatches at hastily to only reap a single.
103rd over: India 360-5 (Ashwin 23, Saha 0) Ashwin gives a bit back with a cracking late cut for four, as Moeen drops too short.
102nd over: India 356-5 (Ashwin 19, Saha 0) Saha plants on the front foot to defend out the over against Rashid. He’s definitely there for the taking, is Saha...
101st over: India 355-5 (Ashwin 18, Saha 0) It’s an over of Moeen Ali making a mockery of the right-hander’s outside edge. Both Ashwin, Kohli and Wriddihman Saha are beaten but only Kohli pays the price. Brilliant bowling from Moeen.
Great tactics from Stokes to drop Ashwin and allow a single so he could catch Kohli the next ball.
Ridiculous stuff from Stokes! The ball before, he drops which, for him, was a regulation catch at slip. The next delivery, with a single taken, Kohli whips at one and it flies low, to Stokes’ right. And he takes it with ease. Important breakthrough. Under 400 on the cards here...
100th over: India 350-4 (Kohli 167, Ashwin 17) Adil Rashid into the attack now, too, as Anderson and Broad are rested. It’s a fine start from the leggie, which includes a googly that Kohli inside edges onto his pad as he lunges forward to defend. Just one from the over.
99th over: India 349-4 (Kohli 167, Ashwin 16) Cook turns to spin, specifically Moeen Ali, who has gone at 4.55 so far this innings (from 11 overs). His first ball today drifts past Ashwin’s outside edge. Good start. A second drifter is defended well before Ashwin bunts a full toss through extra cover – stopped well by sub-fielder Jake Ball – for a couple. A single to midwicket finishes the scoring.
98th over: India 346-4 (Kohli 167, Ashwin 13) That’s the first half-an-hour negotiated well enough by India – 28 runs, no wickets, a lot of class from Kohli. Not quite as much from Ashwin, who wafts at a good length ball from Broad. He’s only got one slip for company, though, and a three-quarters deep backward point. Ridiculous position occupied by Ben Stokes, England’s best fielder, especially with third man on the boundary and Ashwin bringing second slip into play.
Ansari off the field for England, feeling nauseous.
97th over: India 345-4 (Kohli 167, Ashwin 12) Kohli takes a ball from middle and off and times it through square leg for four. Obscene, really. All along the floor, out if he missed but he was never going to.
96th over: India 340-4 (Kohli 163, Ashwin 11) Kohli opens the face into a drive and times in front of point for four like a boss. The result is a man at third man and point dropping deep. Naturally, Kohli blocks into the newly vacated patch of grass for one. The punishment seems too much for the ball, which has been hit out of shape.
“India didn’t believe in sending night watchman last night,” says Mahendra Killedar on email. “But given that Ashwin batting at six, whom would they have protected by sending a one?” Fair point. Though, is it too cheeky to suggest Ajinkya Rahane, in the form he’s in, did that job? [winky face]
"England have gone so defensive, Ashwin must be thinking they fear him. He hasn't suddenly turned into Tendulkar, has he? @MichaelVaughanpic.twitter.com/EwdI9T6bUW
95th over: India 334-4 (Kohli 158, Ashwin 10) A couple of uppish drives sees Alastair Cook bring in a short cover. There’s been a lot of that, this Test: stable door, horse, bolted, following the ball (whatever you want to call it). Ashwin, despite that early strike through extra cover, isn’t looking that comfortable and is playing away from his body a lot.
94th over: India 333-4 (Kohli 157, Ashwin 10) Two singles from the over take us to triple Nelson. As someone who isn’t very suspicious, this means nothing to me.
93rd over: India 331-4 (Kohli 156, Ashwin 9) Single off the first five balls – Ashwin wristing one through square leg – allows Kohli to finish the over driving through Ben Stokes at cover (kicked off the turf and scooted past Ar Stokes) for his first boundary of the morning.
92nd over: India 324-4 (Kohli 151, Ashwin 7) Stuart Broad, who is battling with a foot complaint that, in my limited and very amateur experience, sounds like it could be in stress fracture territory, opens at the other end. Michael Atherton mentioned at the start that Broad is hobbling about but loses the hobble when he moves at full pace. He gets a full set of six against Ashwin and surprises him with the last delivery – short, cramping him for room – and the newly-crowned number six top edges over the slips and just short of third man for a single.
A reminderthat you can get involved by emailing me at vithushan.ehantharajah.casual@guardian.co.uk or sending your pithier takes to @Vitu_E.
91st over: India 323-4 (Kohli 151, Ashwin 6) Anderson cranks the joints and hits Kohli on the pad, as the right-hander moves across his stumps. The throat gets a workout, too, with an appeal but it’s just a bye. For all the encouragement from that first delivery, Ravi Ashwin reasserts India’s and the pitch’s dominance with a drive on the up through extra cover, because he really is VVS Laxman in disguise.
Not sure if you’ve been following matters down under, but Australia are effectively hosting a Battle Royale face-off in this round of the Sheffield Shield to select their XI for the third Test against South Africa, in a series already beyond them. Gloucestershire’s Peter Handscomb has scored a double hundred, while runs for Middlesborough’s Matthew Renshaw (Queensland) and Doncaster’s Sam Whiteman (Western Australia) could add a very Engish element to the Day-Night Test at Adelaide. They love us really, you know.
Ah well, this all seems very familiar, doesn’t it? The sleep covered eyes rubbed at the sight of a bloated Indian batting card, the questions over Cook’s captaincy, the thoughts of sacrificing Shaun Udal to the spin gods to bless us with more twirlers and all with Kohli’s Cheshire cat smile burning a hole through your soul. Actually – and without wishing to add to the premature Yulejaculation – Kohli’s more Grinch than Cheshire cat, isn’t he? After Joe Root landed the first punch with a hundred on the first day of the first Test, the India captain is in the process of landing quite a sizeable counter-blow. He seems to have flicked a switch in Test cricket. After a “ton and done” approach to his first seven centuries – 116, 103, 103, 107, 119, 105*, 115 – the next seven have been 141, 169, 147, 103, 200, 211 and this ongoing innings of 151. Cook will be looking to make sure it’s not three double hundreds “in a row”. He has a new ball at his disposal, as well as a fit and firing James Anderson and a rested Stuart Broad. Righto – go get some coffee and toast and meet me back here in 10.
Vish will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Vic Marks’ report of a difficult first day for England.
Related: India’s Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara punish England in second Test
Continue reading...