Unless there’s a miracle, India is winning the third Test at Trent Bridge.
It’s been a significant turnaround from the Indian side who were trailing in the series two games to none.
India looked all out of the series before the Test, as a strong English side brutally thumped them at Lord’s by an innings and 159 runs.
Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who were the pillars of the Indian batting line-up, struggled against the duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
But there was no respite once a frontline bowler had finished their spell, as Sam Curran and Chris Woakes weren’t giving anything away, while Adil Rashid never disappointed whenever being called into the attack.
But the selection changes, including Shikhar Dhawan coming in for Murali Vijay, Rishabh Pant making his debut in place of the injured Dinesh Karthik, and Jasprit Bumrah coming into the side, seemed to do the trick.
Perhaps the changes meant the baggage of the previous losses didn’t weigh as harshly on the team?
Another reason was the openers providing good starts in both the innings. It’s the first time since 1986 that India had a 50-plus stand in both innings against England.
Dhawan and Rahul were watchful in the first hour and didn’t miss out on scoring opportunities whenever the ball was there to be hit.
The positivity rubbed on Pujara, as he looked assured both on the front and back foot in both innings.
Virat Kohli has been in a different zone for the last three or four years. Rahane’s best innings have been the counterattacking knocks – be that 147 at Melbourne, 103 at Lord’s back in 2014 or even 48 vital runs against South Africa on an unplayable Johannesburg pitch in the third Test earlier this year.
This innings wasn’t any different but, more importantly, he stitched a 152-run partnership with the skipper, and that tilted the balance in favour of India.
Pant looked like a player who has played at least ten Test, and in the small time we’ve seen him, he’s shown he is not going to fade away quickly. The five catches he took off Hardik Pandya was the icing on the cake.
But the hero of the match has been Pandya for his bowling effort of 5/28 in the first innings. India’s bowling was expected to do well, but Hardik was the surprise package.
Has Hardik Pandya just turned his Test career around? (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)
Team management would be relieved to see him performing well, after being under the hammer for picking him.
Ishant Sharma has led the bowling well after taking a five-wicket haul in the first Test. He provided the Indian team with the initial breakthrough and didn’t allow the English opening batsman to settle down.
With the next Test at the Rose Bowl in Southampton and the final Test at the Oval, where spinners are likely to come into play, India have the chance to re-create history and become the second team to win a series after being down two games to zero.
The clash between Joe Root’s England and Virat Kohli’s India is only the third Test match ever hosted at the home of Hampshire Cricket and promises to be a memorable occasion.
But England has to sort out its top order issues, with Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings yet to make their mark in the series.
Perhaps the second innings offers them another chance. Ben Stokes’ batting form has slid since his comeback, and Joe Root has to lead from the front. However, he is sadly yet to get a hundred since August of 2017.
The only man who has looked good has been Jonny Bairstow, with the lower order having camouflaged the frontline batsmen’s shortcomings.
Sam Curran’s left-arm bowling offered England variety, and his inclusion should be carefully thought about for the next Test.
England’s vulnerable batting will put it under tremendous pressure like it was in the last Ashes tour and New Zealand series.
India have to be ruthless and not take the opposition lightly, which happened at the start of the series.
They can recreate history only if they don’t suffer a downfall from here on out. They shouldn’t make any changes to their squad now, barring any injuries.
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