England collapse means India require 152 to win fourth Test and series – as it happened | England in India 2024

Day three report

A chastening day for England. Stokes’ side would have started it hoping for a sizeable first innings lead of over a hundred runs but a classy 90 from Dhruv Jurel in partnership with a dogged Kuldeep Yadav (28) meant that they had to make do with a lead of just 46. Their batting was then a real struggle – India’s spinners tied England’s line up in knots on a pitch that was providing plenty of assistance at times. Yadav took 4-22 and Ashwin 5-51 as England slid to 145 all out, losing their final seven wickets for just 30 runs.

“For all the inexperience of England’s bowling attack it’s really the much vaunted batting which has failed in this series” Writes Dean Kinsella. I’m not sure ‘failed’ is the right word at all. England’s batting has been electric at times and majestic at others (in the notable cases of Ollie Pope and Joe Root) but they haven’t had a star performer consistently in the mould of Jaiswal who has more than 600 runs in the series. That is sort of what you need to prosper on a tour like this. England’s batters were certainly put under the microscope by a mighty fine bowling line up in tricky conditions today and it could be that the series is now out of their reach – barring a minor miracle tomorrow.

STUMPS: India 40-0, require 152 more runs to win.

7th over: India 40-0 (Rohit 24, Jaiswal 16) Root bowls the last over, there are signs of variable bounce but no wicket to give the visitors some succour at the close. India will come back tomorrow with a series victory well within their grasp.

7th over: India 38-0 (Rohit 24, Jaiswal 14) Shoaib Bashir replaces Root and is impressively on the button from the outset. Just a Jaiswal single off it. We might get one more over in before the close. Unless there are some dramatics at the last then this has been India’s day and then some, they’ve roared back into the game after staring down the barrel in their first innings and look set to claim a series victory tomorrow.

6th over: India 37-0 (Rohit 24, Jaiswal 13) Stokes doubles down on Hartley, another full toss follows but the boundary rider sweeps up. A tidier over follows from the lancs spinner but India still pocket easy runs to the spread field.

5th over: India 33-0 (Rohit 22, Jaiswal 11) Four singles off Root, India look untroubled… until the final ball which spits off a length and hits Jaiswal on the arm guard. England imploring the demons in the pitch to make themselves known.

4th over: India 30-0 (Rohit 20, Jaiswal 9) Hartley gets one to slide on and into Rohit’s pads but it was heading down past leg stump. Stokes wisely opts against the review. Gah! Hartley show his greenness by sending down a gift of a full toss that Rohit clips to the fence. This is tough for Hartley with the new ball, I might be inclined to go to Anderson and call on his decades of experience here, take Hartley out of the firing line. Another full toss – another boundary! India rollocking to 30 in no time at all and with significant ease.

3rd over: India 20-0 (Rohit 12, Jaiswal 8) The difference between the start of India’s innings here and the end of England’s is marked. Jaiswal sweeps Root for four with aplomb and India already have 20 runs on the board.

2nd over: India 13-0 (Rohit 11, Jaiswal 2) “Delicately poised isn’t it? writes Avik Pramanik. “The match. The series. With just a sliver of advantage to India. 25 minutes left to play before the stumps. 4th inning on a tricky wicket. Everyone thinking of just get settled and tomorrow morning will be the key. Times like these we miss Virendra Sehwag. Just come out and go hammer on tongs. End of the day 67 for 1 and the suddenly 192 target isn’t that far…”

Rohit isn’t doing too bad a job of a Sehwag impression – skipping down the track to belt Hartley for four through midwicket and then repeating the shot the very next ball. Poor start from Hartley – I’ll say it again – it’s a much tougher gig to try and spin your side to victory inside the pressure cooker, for any spinner.

1st over: India 4-0 (Rohit 3, Jaiswal 1) Root skips in with the new ball which looks a particularly deep cherry red in colour. Rohit nudges off his hip to open his account. Jaiswal drives down the ground to open his. A sweep to the leg side fence brings two more. India are looking to consolidate what has been a terrific day for them, remember they started it it 134 runs behind England with just three wickets left in the hutch. They are now definite favourites. Can England winkle a wicket or two before the close to level things up?

Here come the players. An exciting 20 minutes in store. Rohit and Jaiswal stride to the crease, Joe Root is going to take the first over. Buckle up knuckleheads.

WICKET! Anderson c Jurel b Ashwin 0 (England All Out 145)

WICKET! Foakes c & b Ashwin 17 (England 145-9)

53rd over: England 144-8 (Foakes 16, Bashir 1) Umpire Dharmasena has told India to get a wriggle on. Kuldeep is nudged for a – you guessed it – single off the fourth ball by Foakes.

Hello Peter Salmon:

“Hi Jim – not just proper criggit, but proper criggiter. I feel like you could drop Foakes into any side of the last 100 years and he’d slot in perfectly and then quietly go about his business. Makes the Buttler/Bairstow years seem a fever dream. That said, I assume he’ll be dropped soon, so the selectors can see if the ‘Bairstow keeping’ thing works.”

52nd over: England 144-8 (Foakes 16, Bashir 1) Rohit now slows the game down to England’s tempo – with just seven overs left in the day now perhaps he is mindful of having a tricky period to bat before the close if England lose these last two wickets quickly? An intriguing passage of play – Foakes on a go-slow, both sides sizing each other up. The lead is 191 runs.

51st over: England 142-8 (Foakes 15, Bashir 1) Aswhin to Foakes. Five probing dots and then… struck on the pad and given LBW! Foakes reviews – this looks straight but he might have got a tickle on it? He did! A tiny murmur on the snicko saves Foakes.

50th over: England 142-8 (Foakes 15, Bashir 1) Back after drinks, Foakes takes a single off the fifth ball of the over this time – just to shake things up a little.

“I’m loving Foakes approach here. He’s managed to nab a single off the 4th ball for 7 consecutive overs. I wonder what the record is for such a Herculean feat?”

Tom V D Gucht is all over this approach.

50th over: England 142-8 (Foakes 14, Bashir 1) Nine runs in nine overs. Proper criggit. Time for a drink… and #EggChat courtesy of Harry Lang.

“Dear James,

Making breakfast for my family whilst catching furtive glances of the score on my phone. Turns out the perfect soft boiled egg time is exactly 1 England wicket, around 6 minutes. I won’t risk putting the toast on for soldiers until Bashir is out in 1 egg’s time.”

49th over: England 141-8 (Foakes 13, Bashir 1) The telly shows a slo-mo replay of the spinning seam position on the ball once Ashwin has released it from his long fingers. It’s a thing of beauty. The ball rotating like a top and the seam oscillating like the rings of Saturn. I could watch it all day.

48th over: England 140-8 (Foakes 12, Bashir 1) Another over, another Foakes single off the fourth ball and a Bashir block for the final two. Not for me, I like it.

47th over: England 139-8 (Foakes 11, Bashir 1) Kudeep fizzes one past Foakes’ edge. Things have quietened down after the pre and post tea drama.

Jamie Henderson has had his say:

“Dear Jim, everytime a long update about coffee appears wickets tumble. Please stop. Horrible, jittery, populist stuff anyway. Literally liquid nerves.

Perhaps if you were to talk at length about tea we could build a decent partnership?”

I’d drink a vat of Lapsang Souchong if it means we get to see a series decider in Dharamshala, Jamie.

46th over: England 138-8 (Foakes 9, Bashir 1) Another over, another single off it.

Steve Hudson is clear in his mind.

“Declaration: No.

Someone to belt 20 off 6 balls: Yes. It might just be enough.”

45th over: England 137-8 (Foakes 9, Bashir 1) Kuldeep is coming between the umpire and the stumps and round the wicket. A man after my own thirteen year old heart. Foakes uses his feet to get to the pitch and collect a single.

G’morning Simon McMahon:

“Morning Jim. I’m telling myself already that India will knock off however many they require with minimum fuss to complete a series win. But anything over 200 won’t be easy … If only there was a pithy quote or clip for the OBO that neatly captures the unique pleasure of being an England cricket fan, eh?”

44th over: England 136-8 (Foakes 8, Bashir 1) Foakes takes the single off Jadeja’s fourth ball, he’s happy to let Bashir face a couple of balls. The 19 year old is stout in defence to see out the over.

43rd over: England 135-8 (Foakes 7 Bashir 1) Kuldeep trots in with a significant pep in his step. He’s got 4-15 and his eyes on blowing England away and taking a five-fer in the process. Bashir gets off the mark with a work to square. Fokaes gets another precious run down the ground. Appeal! But a stifled one – the ball was missing leg stump. On we go. The England lead is 181 runs.

42nd over: England 133-8 (Foakes 6, Bashir 0) Jadeja keeps Foakes tied down, six dots stitched together as the tension mounts.

Not sure about this from ‘Ground Force’:

WICKET! Robinson lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 0 (England 133-8)

NOT OUT: A glance on the glove saves Robinson.

REVIEW: Ollie Robinson is given out LBW first ball! He’s sent it upstairs and is suggesting he’s hit it…

WICKET! Hartley c Khan b Kuldeep Yadav 7 (England 133-7)

40th over: England 133-6 (Foakes 6, Hartley 7) Jadeja whizzes through an over, curls bobbing over his headband as he turns on his heels and darts them in. A maiden.

39th over: England 133-6 (Foakes 6, Hartley 7) Three singles worked off Kuldeep. Close! Hartley is nearly cleaned up by a sharply spinning ball.

38th over: England 130-6 (Foakes 4, Hartley 6) Foakes punches a single to bring Hartley on strike. SIX! Hartley does open his shoulders and lofts Jadeja down the ground and into the stands. Lovely strike. Seven off the over and the lead up to 175. Don’t go anywhere. You wouldn’t though, would you?

37th over: England 123-6 (Foakes 2, Hartley 0) Foakes drives well down the ground to add a single to the score. Another scuttler! Yadav gets one to spin sharply at ankle height but it evades leg stump. Just. Can’t do owt with those, Ben.

36th over: England 122-6 (Foakes 2, Hartley 0) Foakes gets a single into the leg side. Jadeja rattles through his over in about 8 seconds flat.

“James my dear old thing”

Back at you Kim Thonger.

“I’m not too concerned about the size of the target. The scene is now set for Stokes to have a bowl, charging in like Bob Willis, nostrils flaring, breathing fire, stumps and bails flying hither and thither. Can’t wait.”

Stokes’ hair surgeon on Wimpole St will be very pleased with the Willis comparison there I reckon…

35th over: England 120-6 (Foakes 1, Hartley 0) Foakes gets off the mark with a quick single to mid on. Slightly risky but makes his ground. Hartley is nearly scuttled by a ball that shoots through low. The pitch is still being a pickle, I wonder if England’s best form of defence is attack – poking forward on this wicket doesn’t seem like a good option.

34th over: England 120-6 (Foakes 0, Hartley 0) Here comes Tom Hartley, he can certainly wield a blade. England need some of his humpty now. A quick cameo of 30 or 40 could make all the difference. He blocks out the over from Jadeja. Two new batters at the crease and plenty of fielders and chatter close to them.

WICKET! Bairstow c Patidar b Jadeja 30 (England 120-6)

Huge moment first ball after tea – Jonny Bairstow is OUT!

Time to delve into the OBO mailbag:

“Hi Jim, I don’t think I’d want England to give India anything less then 300 to win with the way they have managed to accumulate runs in the first innings, especially with Jaiswal in fine fettle. But it seems England have other ideas. I just hope it’s a total that keeps the game in the balance for the fourth innings and the excitement going unlike the last Test.”

I think they’d snatch your hand off for a 250 lead, Michael Fry.

David Ballard weighs in on coffee and cricket matters:

“You’ve obviously never tried a stove top Bialetti. Just enough time to get the milk on and frothed (2 or 3 mins max) and the wonderful noise of the coffee reaching its – well, not to be gross I’ll say, ‘completion’. Two cups of wonderful espresso. And no gross litter like Nespresso. Could be compared to Joe Root on a good day. Quick and very classy. Instant is more like French cricket. Have a good day! Will 250 be enough? Doubt it.”

The pitch was a riddle once more in that session. After an hour or so of relative calm it then started to misbehave like a toddler jacked up on e-numbers. History tells us that anything over 200 will be a very tricky target to chase in fourth innings Indian conditions but England will want as many as possible, they need to make these last five wickets count. Their own spinners bowled admirably in the first innings but it’s a different kettle of Koi when it comes to bowling your side to a Test victory in the fourth dig with all the eyes, hopes and expectations on you.

33rd over: England 120-5 (Bairstow 30, Foakes 0) Ben Foakes blocks out the three remaining balls in the over. That’s tea. A breathless and brilliant session comes to a close. England lead by 166 runs but have lost half of their wickets. We’re on for a nerve chewin, bum squeakin’ hum-dinger here aren’t we!?

WICKET! Stokes b Kuldeep Yadav 4 (England 120-5)

32nd over: England 120-4 (Bairstow 30, Stokes 4) Bairstow is beaten twice in the over by Jadeja, this pitch is now doing all sorts again and India’s bowlers are so skilful that it feels like this innings is now a ticking time bomb.

30th over: England 120-4 (Bairstow 30, Stokes 4) Bairstow steers Kuldeep away for a couple. The tv replay is now showing a replay of the final ball of Jadeja’s last over that India didn’t appeal for – it looked like Stokes had defended a straight ball with his bat but it actually hit pad first and was stone dead in front!

29th over: England 117-4 (Bairstow 27, Stokes 4) More drama! Jadeja goes up for a huge appeal thinking he has trapped Stokes LBW on the front pad. It’s one of those histrionic appeals that has about three waves of increasing noise to it. Rohit calls for the review with one second left on the timer… CLOSE! It was clipping the leg stump but remains not out on umpires call. Ben Stokes loves umpires call these days.

28th over: England 112-4 (Bairstow 24, Stokes 2) Stokes gets off the mark with a couple, a cut to the man on the off side fence. Crikey! A fizzing delivery from Yadav beats the England captain, the ball spitting like a stroppy camel and narrowly pass past the edge of the bat.

WICKET! Crawley b Kuldeep Yadav 60 (England 110-4)

27th over: England 109-3 (Crawley 60, Bairstow 24) Jadeja extracts some huge turn and bounce. England won’t mind seeing that, the pitch has settled down a bit but is still capable of a few surprises…

26th over: England 109-3 (Crawley 59, Bairstow 24) A couple of singles off Kuldeep. Enthralling cricket.

“Hi James. Power to those fingers of yours!”

Much obliged Daryll Accone.

“Going back to an OBO conversation yesterday about coffee-making and its array of favoured and disdained devices, it seems clear that a mini-manual on Making Proper Coffee is needed a lá George Orwell’s celebrated essay on how to make tea, when to add milk, etc.

But couldn’t the divide in the UK between trendy/ trendoid coffee and traditional tea also be seen as an analogue for Bazball versus “proper Test cricket”? One can’t imagine Duckett, say, having the patience or inclination to fiddle with a Bialetti Moka Express stove-top coffee maker and then having to wait for the water to heat and be drawn up through the ground coffee. Too slow, also, the Aeropress and even the cafetière (French press/ plunger/ “Bodum”). Better the Nespresso machine and knock-offs thereof, an almost-instant provider of proper coffee. But for Duckett and no doubt Crawley and the other young and not-so-young guns, best would be instant coffee: just add hot water and you have a simulcram of the real thing.

Verisimilitude is not verity, however. For the genuine product take Root and Stokes: slow-brewed, the bitter grounds of experience yielding a blend of fulfilling and infinite maturity. They are like coffee made the ancient Ethiopian way: for each cup, beans are slow roasted on the spot, then ground by hand and brewed. Rather like tea leaves infused/ steeped/ brewed for the exact time. And after that satisfaction, action, like Root’s unforgettable hundred yesterday, both instant classic and an innings for the ages.

Ciao,

Darryl Accone (Placing Bialetti on stove plate)”

I can’t add anything to this Darryl. Sublime. Oh, apart from this – one of the great music vids for my moolah.

25th over: England 106-3 (Crawley 57, Bairstow 23) Zak Crawley plays a length ball with velveteen hands and the ball runs away for a welcome boundary in the gap wide of slip. The batters combine for three singles before – DRAMA KLAXON – Bairstow is dropped by keeper Jurel! A thick edge playing forward but the man with the cymbals can’t take the catch, more than that, Bairstow was well out of his ground too so it is also a missed stumping opportunity. Big moments.

24th over: England 99-3 (Crawley 50, Bairstow 22) Kuldeep Yadav into the attack. Charlie Chaplin haircut and fizzing left arm spin. Bairstow splices a sharply lifting ball in the air but does well to keep it away from the close fielders. Crawley takes a single down the ground to take the lead to 144 runs.

“Morning Jim, welcome to the tension palace! Sitting here pretty gutted with that wicket of Root that’s really put things in the balance after India’s fight back. We’ll feel a 50 run lead wasn’t what we should have had. But Jaiswal apart, very few have scored big runs consistently this series, just look at Pope’s boom and bust. There’s always a ball with your name on it, but this pitch feels it hasn’t really broken up really badly, so England will want to get at least 250 ahead. Batting time is going to make that better and better. We just need to keep playing straight. Across the line feels wait too much of a gamble. Basically, I’m terrified.”

Guy Hornsby’s inner monologue echoing plenty of England fans’ this morning I reckon.

23rd over: England 97-3 (Crawley 50, Bairstow 21) Crawley tucks Jadeja off his pads to go to a brilliant fifty – The camera cuts to Stokes (still in his vest like Onslow) and co on the team boundary giving him a hearty round of applause.

“Morning James”

Isn’t it just Brian Withington. A scintillating Test match on the telly and sun beaming in through the living room window.

“You join proceedings in the middle of the middle session of the middle day of this match. Need we ask what anti-jinxing guard you are taking?”

Middle please, ump.

23rd over: England 95-3 (Crawley 49, Bairstow 20) Ashwin is picked off for a couple by the long levered Crawley, a single scampered into the covers take the tall opener to the brink of a thirteenth (and vital) Test fifty. Shot! Bairstow plays a deliciously late cut off the back foot and the ball races away for four runs!

22nd over: England 88-3 (Crawley 46, Bairstow 16) Spare a thought for my digits which are about to be reduced to dust as Jadeja replaces Siraj and whistles through a maiden at warp speed.

21st over: England 88-3 (Crawley 46, Bairstow 16) Ashwin continues, every ball feels like an event at the moment. Bairstow drives for one and Crawley soaks up the rest of the over before nurdling a couple off the last to keep the lead ticking upwards.

19th over: England 76-3 (Crawley 44, Bairstow 6) Bairstow sledgehammers Ashwin down the ground. And with that, I’ll hand over to Jim Wallace who will take you through to stumps. Thanks so much for the company, and sorry I didn’t have time to get to all the emails. Bye!