India needed just shy of three overs to complete a brilliant victory; England now lead the series 2-1 with two Tests still to play, the next of them at Southampton, starting in eight days’ time
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Anyway, that’s about us. Thanks for your company and comments, and we’ll see you again in eight days!
Ravi Shastri says India couldn’t have done more, and that before it they were very positive. He reserves particular praise for how his team caught, and the plan is to get the test side up to the level of the one-day side. He says that the pace attack is the best India has ever had “by a mile”, noting that it’s not just the four who played here, but those “on the bench”, Bhuvi and Umesh. He adds that India can “thrash” anyone at home, but the goal is to become the “best travelling side”.
On Kohli, he says that he’s Sachin-level and that he’ll take guard in the next match as though he’s not scored a run in the series. Also on that next match, he says he’s been given a problem as he’s never named an unchanged side but this time it might be tricky.
Trevor Bayliss is with Athers, lamenting how common it is for England to follow a decent performance with dreck. He says that Buttler is “unbelievably talented” and can go on to do some crazy stuff. He’s hopeful that Bairstow can play as a batsman at Southampton, and notes, as Root did, that top-order batsmen on both sides are struggling. He says that the strike needs to be ro-tated better, and that there’s a fine line between success and failure, giving the examples of Kohli and Buttler playing and missing. He then goes on to say that Cook is working as hard as ever and is striking the ball well in the nets, but agrees that Root looks slightly out of rhythm. He’s less sanguine about the slipping though, and says that there are some new faces in there and they’re practising hard, but it’s still winding him up something fierce.
Harbhajan, who has a fine line in coloured blazers – he’s in wine today – echoes what Kohli says, and emphasies thet he doesn’t care who scores runs. Which I guess is easy to say when you score all of them.
Kohli is named man of the match and rightly so. He dedicates the win to those suffering from the floods in Kerala, and says the team needed this performance. He says that before the match, the team noted that of their last five Tests abroad, they’d been outplayed just once – at Lord’s – and if the batsmen did their job, they expected to be on top. He says that India dominated, caught well, and is happy.
He goes on to say that his partnership with Rahane was crucial, and that “Jinkz” is very clear in his method, which is relentlessly positive but also patient - the plan was to “grind out the opposition”. Of his own batting, he says that he’s not been thinking about his failure in 2013 and dedicates the win to his wife, his “biggest motivator”. He’s proud that the four fastest bowlers in the series are all Indian, and references how hard they’ve worked on their fitness and consistency. As a batsman, he says, you know how hard it is to make Test runs, so it’s a thrill to see your own bowlers making it that hard for the opposition. He thinks India can win the series, and says that as long as they maintain the notion that it matter who scores runs and takes wickets, as long as things as going well for the Indian cricket team. I think I’m in love with him.
Athers asks Root about the team he picked and picking to bowl. He says that he was happy with all the calls, and is extremely uncritical of his team, though says perhaps the bowlers could have gone fuller and straighter. On the opener issue, he says conditions have been hard for those at the top of the order on both sides, and explains how happy he is that Jos Buttler showed how it’s done and that he can build an innings.
Presentation time...
There are still problems beyond that: Alastair Cook is not failing because he’s indulging himself. He’s sort of undroppable because Keaton Jennings needs dropping, but at this point that’s more or less the only thing keeping him from being so. A daddy does not seem imminent.
It’s very clear what England have to do next: bat properly. We’ve said this before, but perhaps this is the nadir, because with a home series in the balance and after so much abjectivity, they must not continue in this vein. On top of that, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, two attacking batsmen and limited-overs staples, gave their chumsies a very long, detailed and hopefully humiliating lesson in suitable Test-match behaviour.
We’ve got a bit of a break in the series now – the next Test doesn’t start for another eight days, so good luck filling that time – but on the plus side, it’s going to be an absolute jazzer.
What a brilliant performance from India. In particular, props go to Rahane and Kohli for their first afternoon fightback following a here we go again morning. This allowed the bowlers – aided by some expletive miserable batting – to take advantage.
Anderson has a mow at a leg-break which leaps up, catches glove and handle, and is easily pouched by Rahane, trotting backwards from slip.
105th over: England 317-9 (Anderson 11, Rashid 33) Well this is slightly odd, but here’s a reason Ashwin is out there - he’s going to bowl. And Anderson glances his first ball away to fine leg for three - Ishant pursues and ushers to the fence to keep yerman on strike, but it pulls up short and the law awards a five-run penalty for kicking it over. Rashid then sweeps a single to long leg...
104th over: England 313-9 (Anderson 8, Rashid 32) Mohammed Shami, who’s having a fine series, has the ball, and Rashid turns his first delivery wide of mid on for two - eventually. He initially looks to keep strike, then realises that he still can because it’s the injured Ashwin who has to chase. Why is he even out there? Because why wouldn’t he be, I guess - joy is both pending and impending. Anyway, five dots follow, Rashid missing with one hook. two down.
103rd over: England 311-9 (Anderson 8, Rashid 30) Anderson looks confident enough as he plays the first delivery to point then ducks a bouncer. Then another, before a wild swing outside off ... mind the windows, Jimmy. Then another dot, and England have just 89 overs to survive, but still need 210 runs; swings and roundabouts.
The players are almost ready, as Anderson, armguarded to the max, rehearses some defensive shots. Hardik Pandya has the meteorite...
Related: Trent Bridge reverses decision to charge £10 for tickets and lets fans in for free
Jerusalem is playing...
This is damning. Obviously the spare wicket-keeper bit is a joke, but England need more, much more, from their top order.
England's specialist batsmen in this series: 398 runs at 19.9
England's assorted all-rounders, wicket-keepers and spare wicket-keepers in this series: 815 runs at 37.05
England's Broad and Anderson in this series: 43 runs at 10.75
“I think it’ll all be over in an over. Done.” Thus chirps Andrew Benton, who has reckoned without the Burnley Lara’s ability to go on the counter-attack.
This isn’t cricket-related, but it is saving the world-related, which makes it cricket-related. So, please take a few minutes and a few pounds to do this.
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“So, the big question,” emails Simon McMahon. “Are you going ball-by-ball, for that crucial first hour at least?”
I don’t think I can take the tension.
On the ticketing discussion, Gary Naylor tweets as follows: “My guess is that Notts CC looked at their costs for today (security, stewarding, catering etc) and worked out that £10 on the gate might cover most of their costs. But that’s not really how good commercial decisions are made is it?”
Yes, it’s possible. So too are other things, but let’s assume the best and also that a lesson has been learnt.
Jasprit Bumrah just went on telly explaining that India’s improved fitness has allowed their bowlers to bowl faster for longer - their lot are all quicker than England’s lot, and were as quick at the end of the day as they were at the start. I wonder if they’ll start with the short stuff at Anderson.
“I’m not sure whether to congratulate or commiserate with you on landing this shift,” emails Richard O’Hagan. “Is there anything more pointless in sport than this situation? I know that it is one that you can’t really do anything about, but I’m sure there must be more examples - national anthems before games? The point after a touchdown in American Football? Taking Theo Walcott to the 2006 World Cup?”
What do you mean? England are about to put one more over into the legs of the India bowlers.
County cricket, get it while it’s hot, it’s lovely.
Related: County cricket: Yorkshire v Worcs, Surrey v Lancashire and more – live!
“I’ve come to work today without a coat in order to tempt the rain gods,” tweets Stephen Bickers. “Granted I work in London rather than Nottingham, but it is worth a try.”
What you actually need to do is paint a circle on the ground and refuse to step out of it, as per ya boy Choni HaMeagel. And as for the rain, it’s grey in London but it’ll be fine in Nottingham.
India, meanwhile, have probably got the team right now. Jasprit Bumrah has obviously made a huge difference, and Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul have given them two starts. Bringing in Rishabh Pant was also the right call, as Dinesh Karthik looked a mess and probably wouldn’t have made those useful first-innings runs.
Thinking about where England go from here, we can assume that Jos Buttler will keep for the rest of the series, and perhaps in the future. Jonny Bairstow needs to focus on batting because he’s good enough to become one of the best around, at the moment he isn’t, and England need him to be. It really shouldn’t matter if that’s annoying for him because it’s not about him and good leadership is helping him realise that. Otherwise, I’d like to see Sam Curran back because I think his variety has been missed here, and if that means Chris Woakes misses out, well what you gonna do. It’s probably time for Keaton Jennings – if we’re being harsh, it was probably time for Keaton Jennings before he was recalled – and perhaps Rory Burns will get a go instead.
Well, they got there in the end.
#ENGvIND | We’ve slept on the day five pricing policy &, frankly, we got it wrong.
All current ticket holders will be refunded & admission will be free on the gate with donations collected for charity.
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So how long will this last? The turf accountant with whom I checked has England to get either above or below 320.5 runs, ten more than they have currently, which seems generous to me. One edged four, a few singles, and there you are. But I think we’d all be shocked if this went beyond midday, which is to say that the first hour is crucial.
Hello, good morning and goodbye. Thanks for coming. See you soon. In a bit. Don’t you go changing. In not long at all, India are going to beat England, taking us to Southampton with the series deliciously poised at 2-1. The hosts are still warm favourites to take it, but will be concerned that momentum has switched.
What we’ve seen these last few days looked exceedingly unlikely this time last week. So extravagant was India’s Lord’s collapse and so confident are England at Trent Bridge that we knew in advance what was coming next, our series going the way of so many serieses, with a kicking for the visitors. It was literally as though we’d never heard of Virat Kohli.
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