England could not hope to stage a better comeback against India in the third Test at Headingley after a disappointing show in the Lord’s Test eight days ago. They wrapped India up for 78 before closing on 120/0, already having secured a lead of 42 in the first innings.
The day started with the rare phenomenon of Virat Kohli winning the toss. Kohli opted to bat, but Joe Root, his counterpart, was not disappointed with the decision, citing ‘there’s some cloud cover and it’s a little bit tacky’.
Rohit Sharma pushed the first ball off James Anderson to cover to get India off the mark straightaway. That was a perhaps the only moment of the day for the Indian fans to cherish. Anderson, in his ninth opening spell of the summer, finally picked up a wicket by tempting K. L. Rahul into a drive. The latter only managed to nick it to Jos Buttler.
Four overs later, England got another wicket, more precisely Anderson got his second. This time, it was Cheteshwar Pujara (1), in a fashion similar to Rahul’s.
The next wicket was big, why would it not be? It was none other than Kohli’s (7). Anderson, who had a drought of eight wicketless opening spells, got his third, all in a similar fashion. Anderson (3-6) was finally rewarded for disciplined bowling of the highest order.
Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane (18) then steadied the Indian innings slowly. But just when one thought they would return with more resilience in the second session, Ollie Robinson found the outside edge of Rahane’s bat with the second-last ball before lunch.
India went to lunch with 56/4. The partnership between Rohit and Rahane was worth 35, India’s highest in the innings.
India needed something special from Rishabh Pant (2) to revive from there. The hope shattered quickly when Pant edged Robinson (2-16) to Buttler, playing away from his body. It was Buttler’s fifth catch of the day. Yes, all of India’s wickets until then were confirmed after the ball went straight into his hands.
Despite wickets falling in regular intervals from the other end, Rohit (19 in 105 balls) was patient, leaving most balls alone. He finally fell when he tried to pull Craig Overton in the 37th over. The ball was well outside off, not quite one for a pull shot, favorite stroke or otherwise. The miscue went straight to Robinson, at mid on.
With the next ball, Overton undid Mohammed Shami with extra bounce; the edge went to Rory Burns at third slip. The English fans had been ballistic right from the start, and the roar just got higher with Shami’s departure. Yes, there was a reason for that. He was one of the heroes for India in the Lord’s Test.
Ravindra Jadeja (4) and Jasprit Bumrah were the next to head back to the dressing room. Sam Curran removed them in successive balls, and suddenly, India lost four wickets on 67.
Mohammed Siraj (3) was the last to fall after he backed away to the leg side to play Overton (3-14), but hit straight to Root at slip. India, losing the last seven wickets for 22, were skittled for 78. It was their third-lowest team total against England, after 42 in 1974 and 58 in 1952.
Burns and Haseeb Hameed batted seven overs before tea, and reached 21/0. The deficit was only 57, and the situation only got worse once they returned from the break.
India bowled 35 overs in the last session. They tried all five bowling options, but nothing went in their favour. Burns (52*) and Hameed (60*) added 99 in this period to send India in disarray.
Brief Scores: India 78 (Rohit Sharma 19; James Anderson 3-6) trail England 120/0 (Haseeb Hameed 60*) by 42 runs.