Jos Buttler digs England out of trouble as hosts snatch advantage from India
India (174-6) trail England (332) by 158 runs: Hosts gain advantage, lose advantage, then gain advantage in final Test
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Your support makes all the difference.It was the series in microcosm: a day of big swing, big swings and big swinging, an even contest that nevertheless lurched towards England at the last. A day when England’s lower order and seamers again untied them from a deep bind, when India’s batsmen again flattered to deceive, when James Anderson again failed to extract Virat Kohli.
Instead, it was Ben Stokes who dismissed the Indian captain 20 minutes before stumps, following it up with the wicket of Rishabh Pant and giving England the upper hand just when India looked to have clawed back to level terms. Such has been the story of the summer: for all England’s flaws, their superior nous and expertise in these conditions have just given them the edge.
When they have been in trouble, somebody has dug them out, and here it was Jos Buttler who dragged England to 332, having looked on Friday evening like they might struggle to make 200. On his 28th birthday, Buttler was the centre of attention, belting a vivid 89 and ensuring that England enjoyed the best of the conditions. So far, batting has been easiest in the first part of the day: of the 16 wickets to fall so far this Test, two have become before lunch, three in the afternoon session, and 11 after tea.
As it happened, the ball still swung in the morning session, but perhaps a little too much. Ishant Sharma had numerous exasperated LBW appeals turned down because they were tailing past leg stump, and while India’s seamers frequently beat the edge, they occasionally struggled to control the lavish movement.
Stuart Broad rode his luck to pass 20 for the first time in 15 Test innings, finally succumbing 10 minutes after lunch as he tried to clout Ravindra Jadeja back over his head. KL Rahul took a staggering catch running back from mid-on. That was the cue for Buttler to get stuck in.
Having twice been reprieved by DRS the previous evening, Buttler was not going to die wondering. Jasprit Bumrah, his former Mumbai Indians team-mate, disappeared 15 rows back over mid-wicket. A short ball was hooked into the Bedser Stand for another six. Jadeja ended the fun in the next over, getting Buttler caught at slip for his fourth wicket of the innings. But in the space of just a few overs, Buttler had again shown what an asset he is to this side when he goes feral. England’s last three wickets had added 151 runs, which may well end up being the difference between victory and defeat.
Whereupon England’s bowlers set to work. Broad despatched Shikhar Dhawan with his first ball, but India rallied: Rahul beginning aggressively, Che Pujara with his customary caution. Stokes got an early bowl, but it was Sam Curran who made the breakthrough after team, bowling Rahul with a wonderful delivery that nipped away and clipped the top of off-stump.
And so, ultimately, it came down to the battle we all wanted to see. Anderson is the only England bowler not to have dismissed Kohli this series, and when he trapped him with a full inswinger in his first over back, it seemed for all money as if Anderson finally had his man. Instead, umpire Kumar Dharmasena turned down the appeal; ‘umpire’s call’ the verdict on review; Anderson relieving himself of a hefty percentage of his match fee at the end of the over, offering Dharmasena some sage advice as he collected his cap.
Suitably pumped, Anderson blew away Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to leave India 103-4, but despite playing every card in his hand, Kohli remained. Now he was joined by the debutant Hanuma Vihari, who was twice saved by the review system: once when Joe Root decided not to use a review that would have seen him dismissed, once when Vihari himself reviewed an LBW decision off Broad.
Vihari has a first-class average of almost 60, and his duel with Stokes late on showed he has the character to match: hooking him for six and then staring him down as Stokes gave him a fearful lashing of the tongue. Ultimately Stokes, like Anderson, would take his frustration out on others: first Kohli, caught at second slip, and then Pant, caught at first. It may be a dead rubber, but there’s still plenty of life left in this one.
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