England mercilessly trounced India in the third Test of the five-match series, and it was one of those one-sided contest, where England dominated all the thirteen sessions of the Test match. Ishant-less Team India looked toothless in the bowling and the much hyped batting line-up looked lackluster and never got together.
IT STARTED WITH COOK AND BALLANCE AND ENDED WITH BELL AND BUTTLER
Alastair Cook took full advantage of the dropped catch by Jadeja, as he went on to make a fine 95. Whereas Ballance, who was pretty dodgy at the start, stood and became a wall of hindrance for the Indian bowlers. Later, Ian Bell showed his true class and scored a brilliant century. Debutant Jos Buttler slammed his critics with a Gilchrist-esque knock to shatter the confidence on Indian bowlers. England piled up a massive total of 569/7.
“BATTING IS INDIA’S STRENGTH?” REALLY?
Many thought if English batsmen could score big , Indians could do it as well. But, it was not to be. India’s top-order woes continued as Shikhar Dhawan danced to the tunes of James Anderson. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, failed yet again, leaving behind a hell lot of work for the lower-order. Ajinkya Rahane and MS Dhoni showed some resistance, but it didn’t last long. It was a very erratic batting performance, as Indian batsmen failed twice on a ‘batting paradise.’
PERFECT BOWLING PERFORMANCE BY ENGLAND
It started with James Anderson hustling the batsmen and ended with Moeen Ali’s maiden five-wicket haul. Anderson took seven wickets and was awarded man of the match for his wonderfully controlled display of swing bowling. Anderson was well supported by Stuart Broad, who bowled fast and pushed Indian batsmen on the back foot. Woakes and Jordan bowled very tight and didn’t allow Indian batsmen to get going from the either end. But on the fifth day, the damage, however, was inflicted by Moeen Ali, who took four wickets to finish with 6 for 67.
It was a very clinical performance by the English side, where batsmen scored runs, bowlers took wickets and India were never given an inch.
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by Kaushik Narayanan
