Buttler feared his chance had gone

JOS BUTTLER said he doubted he would ever get a recall, after making 43 on his return to the Test side in Mohali.

Coming in at No 7 as a specialist batsman for his first Test innings since October 2015, Buttler (right) put on 69 with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, only for the tourists to close on 268 for eight after winning a supposedly crucial toss.

‘It was great to be out there in the middle and playing again,’ said Buttler. ‘There are times when you question if you will get another chance. But the day could have gone better for the team. There were a few dismissals that could have been avoided, but a few did start to spin and keep low. You’re always in the game with runs on the board.’

But there was no escaping the conclusion that, following totals of 255 and 158 during their defeat in the second Test, England had missed a glorious opportunity to get back into the series. Despite that, Bairstow — who top-scored with 89 in what has become his own personal annus mirabilis — did his best to sugar the pill. It was his 10th score of 50 or more in Tests this year from No 5 or below — a feat only West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews have previously achieved. And he now has a maximum of five innings left in this series to score the 142 he will need to become England’s highest Test run-scorer in a calendar year. The record currently belongs to Michael Vaughan, who made 1,481 in 2002.

‘It’s about finding a method of scoring runs,’ said Bairstow, who was eventually trapped legbefore by off-spinner Jayant Yadav.

‘The conditions all year — in South Africa, then throughout the summer, and now in Bangladesh and India — have all been different. But I was really cheesed off to get out like that.’