Damage limitation from England as Broad battles pain
THE sight of England’s big bowling beasts making early inroads into the India second innings yesterday was a bitter sweet one for Alastair Cook as he had already seen his victory hopes disappear into the Visakhapatnam dust.
If only England had not succumbed so meekly on the second evening then the three-wicket new-ball burst from Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson might have made India twitchy yesterday.
Trouble was, England had still conceded a first innings deficit of 200 despite the best efforts of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes to lift them as close as possible to India’s 455 and you do not win too many Tests from that far behind.
So the third day of this second Test simply became a damage limitation exercise before England begin their attempt today to bat for something like four-and-a-half sessions and somehow escape from this east coast city with a draw.
If that remains highly unlikely, then at least England fought back on a decent day yesterday that shows they intend to continue to battle here in a series that could easily hurry away from them on a succession of turning pitches.
None more so than Broad, who began the third day with doubts over his ability to carry on in the three Tests to come but displayed his competitiveness to bowl and hobble through injury and claim both Indian openers.
The problem with the tendon in his right foot will keep Broad out of the third Test next week but England hope, with a week’s break before the fourth, he will be fit for the last two.
Somehow he eked out both Murali Vijay and Lokesh Rahul after India replied to England’s 255.
When Jimmy Anderson produced a beauty to bowl Cheteshwar Pujara, India were 40 for three and England were making it as hard as possible for them to have enough time to take a 1-0 lead north to Mohali.
Yet with Virat Kohli still there on 56, India, at 98 for three, will hope to extend their lead beyond 400 soon after lunch today and then let their spinners loose again on the fragile England top order.
All hope will not yet be lost if those England batsmen show anything like the resolve and positivity that saw Stokes and Bairstow add 110 for the sixth wicket to prove to those above them how it should be done.
Just when it became possible to believe England could get close to parity, Bairstow was gone playing all round a full delivery from Umesh Yadav 10 minutes before lunch and just ahead of the second new ball.
Once Stokes had fallen to Ravichandran Ashwin — the review showed the batsman was probably both lbw and caught — then England were down and almost out.
If the decision of Stokes to review was questionable, Zafar Ansari’s was a total waste when he was trapped lbw in front by Ravindra Jadeja, and his misjudgement was to cost England when Broad was triggered. So convinced was Broad that he was not out when struck by Ashwin that he forgot England had used up their challenges, as did umpire Kumar Dharmasena, who signalled for a review before sheepishly withdrawing it.
It was a pity for England that he had to because technology backed up the suspicion of the naked eye that the ball would have missed leg-stump and Broad had to hobble off on his way, feeling hard done by.
When Anderson fell to the next ball, Ashwin had yet another home fivewicket haul and England were one run short of taking the follow on out of the equation but Kohli chose not to enforce it anyway and batted again.
It will take a near miracle for England to get out of this all square.