Haunted England repeat batting mistakes to waste golden chance
►Root wins toss but tourists fail to capitalise by making 205 ►Picking an extra batsman is undermined by spin problems
There can be no excuses for this performance. Neither the pitch nor grumbles about umpires could be used to distract from a poor England batting display that gifted India the upper hand.
This is not a flat pitch, but it is better than in the past two Tests, with pace and carry that should have suited England’s top order. With an extra batsman in the side, there was a great chance to make a total that could give them control and an opportunity to level the series, after Joe Root won his third toss out of four.
Instead England were bowled out for 205, narrowly avoiding a sixth successive total below 200, as batsmen spooked by spin walked to the crease accompanied by demons from past failures. Ben Stokes made a good fifty, fired up by a confrontation with Virat Kohli, but there was no substance from England, bowled out limply an hour into the final session.
Some fine Indian bowling contributed to England’s problems – with Mohammed Siraj showing what a threat he will be on English pitches in the summer, swinging the ball at pace both ways – but the tourists were also masters of their own misfortune. The ball did not really start to turn consistently until after tea, but by then England were five down and relying on Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence to bail them out.
If their top order had performed they could have reached that stage with a more solid foundation. But they lost five for 65 in the first 10 overs of the final session, with eight wickets falling to spin and Axar Patel taking four for 68.
James Anderson is one of the few players England can still rely on in a crisis. He bowled five maidens in a row and rallied his team, pinning Shubman Gill lbw for nought, but Rohit Sharma showed England how to bat with composure and from 24 for one India can stretch out in front.
England picked Lawrence at seven to shore up their batting, suspecting another raging turner and that the seamers would bowl only a few overs as the game wore on. India taking eight wickets with spin on day one points in that direction, but it was a defensive selection from England.
It forced them to ditch their plan of picking an express fast bowler when available, and they would have lacked edge if they had lost the toss and bowled. Jofra Archer was ruled out again with an elbow injury, but Mark Wood is in the squad. In their absence Stokes, with a dicky tummy, took the new ball for the first time in his Test career, after bowling just 15 overs in the series.
Picking seven batsmen demands that you then make a good total. Root is now left with a thin attack, including an off-spinner in whom he has lost faith, to defend a low score, and is unable to set attacking fields or apply pressure for long.
England’s batting problems can be summed up by the fact they have not managed a fifty partnership since the first Test and have just one batsman – Root – averaging above 29. From 578 in the first innings in Chennai, they have gone in reverse, with batsmen guilty of repeating the same errors. There were more soft dismissals here.
India bowled well, their balanced, varied attack constantly keeping up the pressure, but England helped with some poor decision-making from players lacking confidence in their defence. Zak Crawley did not give himself a chance, taking Root’s advice to be fearless too literally and rashly holing out at mid-off, charging Patel in his second over.
By then Dom Sibley had already been bowled by Patel’s straight ball, once again playing for turn that was not there. He has barely made a run since the pitches started to spin.
Root has covered up so many issues with his runs but Siraj bowled a superb spell, going after him in the same aggressive way as Australia do. He pushed Root back with short balls and then suckered him with a pitched-up delivery first ball after drinks. Root looked a bit worn down. The past two defeats have drained the captain, who not long ago had led England to five away wins in a row and was sweeping all before him.
Jonny Bairstow, fresh from a pair, could have been out at any stage in his first 10 balls. His 48-run stand with Stokes threatened a fightback but Siraj exposed a familiar fault, nipping one back into the pads and dismissing Bairstow leg before. It was the 11th time in two years Bairstow had been lbw or bowled by pace, and his time at No3 looks short.
Kohli missed a trick, giving Stokes half an hour at the crease before bringing on Ravichandran Ashwin, and instead tried to wind him up by goading him into a confrontation. Stokes channels his anger in the right ways these days and responded with a feisty halfcentury, smiting two sixes, and brought up his fifty with a reverse sweep. But hope faded when Washington Sundar, bowling round the wicket, fired one into the pads.
Stokes walked off, ignoring Pope imploring him to review, beaten by a straight ball as the old demons returned.
Pope looked better and Lawrence had a method, too. Both showed intent and Pope used his feet to try to upset the bowlers’ length. He was unluckily caught at short leg off a ricochet via his back pad, but he had been unnerved and had begun to look jumpy again in the previous overs when the ball started to grip for the spinners.
Lawrence picked off the bad balls, hitting eight fours, but threw body and soul into a big yahoo at Patel, and was stumped for 46. It was all a bit unnecessary with Dom Bess at the other end. Ashwin, who had been quiet, finished off the innings, leaving England bemused and broken yet again.