N ANANTHANARAYANAN
LONDON : The Trent Bridge win has handed India the momentum going into the break before the series against England resumes at Southampton with the fourth Test starting on Thursday.
India’s rejuvenated batting, the new-found confidence among batsmen and their focus on team requirement, and the bowlers’ consistency have put Virat Kohli’s team ahead despite Joe Root’s side leading 2-1 with two matches to go. Both aspects have been highly praised.
However, it is the brilliant catching in the cordon that has given India the third dimension, turning the tables on England. An area in which many critics put India below England has now left the hosts under fire after dropping 14 catches so far.
England’s weakest link is young opener Keaton Jennings. His repeated early dismissals have left him on the verge of being axed once again. The story could have been very different. In the first Test at Edgbaston, Jennings was on nine in the first innings when Ishant Sharma Joe Root: England skipper nicks Hardik Pandya’s first ball of the third Test and KL Rahul cups his hands on the ground to take it. Catch is confirmed after many TV replays. England managed just 161. Ollie Pope: The batsman nicks Ishant Sharma down the leg and debutant Rishabh Pant smoothly moves to the left and plucks a low, diving catch. In 2nd innings, Kohli on third slip flies in front of second to take edge off
Mohammed Shami. drew an edge. Ajinkya Rahane, one of India’s safest pair of hands, dived from fourth slip in front of third and dropped it. Jennings was finally out for 42.
England won by 31 runs on Day 4, and the margin was essentially the extra runs scored by Jennings. But India were electric in the cordon at Trent Bridge in the remarkable comeback after the demoralising show at Lord’s. Debutant wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul at slip both snapped up seven catches.
It eased India’s long standing concerns, be it in last year’s home series against Sri Lanka or in South Africa.
At Trent Bridge, edges kept flying to the safe hands of Rahul and Pant as pacers shared 19 wickets. Rahul’s seven victims were one short of Rahane’s world record eight in a match, against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2015.
India had struggled with slip catching for a while. In the home series against Sri Lanka in 2017, questions were raised about con-