The force is with India as England are out-bowled

Root’s side managed to save some face but Kohli knows his attack is more potent in all conditions

England’s morale has lived to fight another Test. Their defeat in the third match of this five-test Specsavers series was by their normal enormous margin – 203 runs – because this England side of the white-ball era either lose by a street or else win. Yet by taking the game 17 balls into day five, they salvaged some self-respect from being dismissed in a single session – a collective failure which deserves to be punished by defeat every time.

So, England will assemble for the fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, starting a week today, 2-1 up and in reasonable order for a team who have not scored top-order runs since the last Ashes series, and then not in large quantities. They need only one victory in the last two Tests to defeat the world No1 team, and so extreme is England’s inconsistency that one more win is possible.

The force is with India, however, and while only one team have ever come from 2-0 down to win a Test series – Australia at home to England in 1936-7 – the opportunity to do so has been very scarce in recent decades. Only England play the prerequisite of five-test series, either against Australia or India, although a dozen or so years ago the England and Wales Cricket Board announced with much fanfare that Test series against South Africa would consist of five Tests. Implementation is still awaited.

The key factor, amid all the noise, is that India now have a stronger attack than England, come hail or shine, seaming pitch or flat. Since the human catapult that is Jasprit Bumrah spiced it up, the heat being generated by India’s four fast bowlers – all speedier than England’s – and their highclass spinner, even when Ravichandran Ashwin has a hip injury, is rising towards the temperature at which Australia baked their opponents until 10 years ago, before the retirement of Glenn Mcgrath and Shane Warne.

In conditions at Trent Bridge which helped pace bowlers throughout, India’s were distinctly more potent, and this difference can be expected to increase on the more batting-friendly pitches of Southampton and the Oval. In India’s inaugural Test in 1932, England were 19 for three as India’s superior pace attack dismissed Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe, who had shared the world-record opening stand of 555 the previous week, and 259 all out; and this summer has seen a similar shock.

Ishant Sharma’s hold over England’s left-handed opening batsmen makes the selection of another, whether Rory Burns or Nick Gubbins, untenable. Ollie Pope promises a long-term future but the critical juncture of a marquee series is no time for learning on the job. If Jonny Bairstow cannot play, the returns of James Vince and Moeen Ali would bolster the middle order’s capacity to recover after Sjarma has done his stuff – and a second spinner is the norm at Southampton, which is a new-ball pitch before batsmen assume the ascendancy.

Being dismissed in a single session deserves to be punished by defeat every time

Virat Kohli, the man of the match, dedicated what was only India’s seventh Test victory in England to the victims of the floods in Kerala, which was good to hear. India’s cricketers have not used their semi-divine status sufficiently to speak out on social issues. His two innings of impeccable judgment, 97 and 103, Kohli dedicated to his wife.

Kohli could also have given thanks to his lucky stars that, as an occasional slow-medium bowler, he does not have to open India’s bowling, or act as first change. That would have been his fate half a century ago, as it was for Sunil Gavaskar. India lost their original fast-bowling factory at Partition – two of the three pace bowlers in their inaugural Test were raised in what became Pakistan – and it is only in the past 20 years that find-a-fast-bowler competitions have gone into their towns and villages. A talent search, given the millions to be made in the Indian Premier League, to attract anyone.

The last rite ended in the day’s third over when James Anderson was caught off a rebound by slip. Only a few hundred spectators were present. In one stall a lot of ostrich burgers went uneaten.

It may not seem significant, but Anderson’s 11 was his highest Test innings since his 12 in the first Test against South Africa last season, while Stuart Broad’s 20 was easily his highest since Sydney. A constant threat to this England side, in this period of extreme inconsistency, is that they will fragment into groups – and certain bowlers have got so annoyed with the batsmen, who not only fail to make big first-innings totals but drop more than their fair share of slip catches, that they have not been bothered to hang around when they bat.

Yes, in the face of the challenge by the current world champions, England will fight another day – but their best does not look like being good enough to prevent India under Kohli recording one more Test win.