WIN OR BUST AS ENGLAND DIG IN FOR THE GREAT CHASE
It says everything for England’s new-found belief and all-out attacking intent that they will still back themselves to chase whatever india set them in this rearranged final test.
Yes, they conceded a first-innings lead of 132 on this third day here at Edgbaston when they were dismissed for 284 by a mightily impressive india despite a third hundred in as many matches by Jonny Bairstow.
And, yes, that lead was stretched to 257 for the loss of three second-innings wickets as india turned back the clock and played good old-fashioned test cricket in their quest for the win or draw that will give them this series almost a year after they took a 2-1 lead.
But England were as positive with the ball and in the field as they were with the bat as they sought to keep india within reach on another compelling day of test cricket. Albeit one that ended a staggering 15 overs short of what should have been the day’s allocation, a new over-rate low.
First, Shubman Gill edged Jimmy Anderson’s second ball of the india second innings to Zak Crawley at slip, then Stuart Broad, touching 90 miles per hour, had hanuma Vihari driving loosely to Bairstow in the cordon.
then, most dramatically, the key wicket of Virat Kohli was claimed by a brute delivery from Ben Stokes that bounced sharply, took the splice, was spilled by Sam Billings but then grabbed one-handed as it fell by Joe Root.
We know England need a win to square this series, that Stokes ‘isn’t interested’ in draws in this brave new world, and that England have already chased 277, 296 and 299 to win three tests against world champions New Zealand in the last month.
So there will be no attempt to bat out time when india are bowled out or declare today, Stokes electing to bowl in this test in the first place simply because he wants England to chase.
it will be win or bust and no regrets if it goes the wrong way for England.
What a start to the third day and what a hundred from Bairstow, arguably even greater than those at trent Bridge and headingley against New Zealand because of the quality of the bowling.
The first hour yesterday was as good as test cricket gets, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami providing a fierce examination of Bairstow and Stokes and the whole philosophy of this ultra-positive England side.
the batting heroes of the trent Bridge win over New Zealand were struggling until Kohli decided to engage verbally with Bairstow, who was on 13 and had just missed a big drive. umpire Richard Kettleborough had to calm things down, but Bairstow is never better than when he gets that look in his eyes and fire in his belly.
What followed was a sublime display of controlled hitting, Bairstow swatting Mohammed Siraj for six and smashing Shakul thakar over the longest boundary in Edgbaston and into the hollies Stand.
he chipped thakur just short of Che Pujara at mid-wicket on 78 and was given out lbw by Aleem Dar to thakur on 89, but immediately reviewing knowing he had got the thinnest of inside edges onto his pad.
Bairstow was going to his first hundred against india, and his first at this ground, when a backfoot push off thakur went to the boundary where Ravindra Jadeja slipped and mis-fielded. Cue another emotional celebration from Bairstow and the acclaim of a packed Edgbaston.
he had taken 63 deliveries over those first 13 runs before Kohli’s intervention, but the last 84 runs of his hundred came off just 54 balls as he reached dizzy heights achieved by very few English batters in making his fifth hundred in his last eight tests. All of them began with England in big trouble after top-order collapses.
Playing down his spat with Kohli, he said: ‘We’ve played against each other for a solid ten years now. it’s a bit of craic.
‘We’re fiercely competitive on the field and that’s what it’s about. We’re playing test cricket and we’re two competitors. it brings the best out of us.
‘Whatever it takes, you want to get your team over the line and that’s part and parcel of the game. it’s passion. it’s what you play for.’
While Bairstow was controlled aggression personified, Stokes again trod the wrong side of the fine line between positivity and recklessness.
he slogged Shami high towards cover on 18 but was dropped by thakur, the weak link of this outstanding india side.
the England captain was then dropped at mid-off by Bumrah. Far from learning from it, he attempted the same shot to thakur off the very next ball, only to see the india captain take off and claim an outstanding diving catch.
Stokes, still seeking to set the tone for his team with his selflessness, could only smile at his misfortune before trudging off.
England’s chances of getting close to india disappeared when Bairstow attempted a big drive at the first ball delivered by Shami on his return to the attack after an opening spell that — in between the rain breaks on Saturday — lasted fully 18 overs.
india ended the day in control, with Pujara, officially warned for running down the pitch, unbeaten on 50 alongside Rishabh Pant. But there are still two days to go, which England will consider plenty of time for them to pull off their best chase yet.