3rd Test: Dominant India Crush England By 434 Runs
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2024-02-19 05:36:48
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
Displaying all-round brilliance, India crushed England by a record 434 runs to the win the third Test on the fourth day. Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his brilliant form and scored his second double century of the series and, along with a superb Sarfaraz Khan, pulverized the England bowling by hitting fours and sixes at will. The duo took India to 430 for 4 at which point skipper Rohit Sharma declared the innings to set the visitors a target of 557 runs for victory in a little over 4 sessions. That was not to be as England crumbled to defeat in less than 40 overs, being all out for a paltry 122 with tailend batter Mark Wood (33) being the highest scorer.
Earlier in the morning, Shubman Gill was looking set to score another century but was unfortunately run out at 91. Then, Yashasvi returned to bat (he had retired hurt with back spasms on Day 3) and continued in the same fashion as he had left. In fact, as the day progressed, he attacked the bowling with a new found vigour and at the other end, debutant Sarfaraz Khan, who had scored a brilliant fifty in the first innings, too joined the party. Together the pair added 172 runs for the fifth wicket without being separated. The England bowling was totally without planning and the game play they displayed in the first Test at Hyderabad (which they won) was surprisingly absent. The ease with which Jaiswal and Khan were hitting fours and sixes showed that England had no clue how to stop them.
Yet, when the visitors batted for the second time, there was complete submission. None of the England batters displayed application and they were all at sea against Jadeja and Kuldeep even though there were no extraordinary demons in the pitch. Yes the ball was turning and the odd one was keeping low but this is the third Test and England have encountered such pitches before. Perhaps it was the weight of the 557 run target that forced them into a defeatist mindset for none of the England batters took the fight to the opposition. Their famed bazball policy lay in tatters in the face of a bowling masterclass from Indian spinners, especially Jadeja, who were spot on and were brilliantly supported by the fielders. With this, India is 2-1 up in the 5-match series but England have a habit of bouncing back. So India must not underestimate them.
