MATCH STORIES
Follow UsAt 1:34 PM IST on Friday (February 16), Jimmy Anderson trudged off the field after an extensive workout in the middle, having just bowled 25 overs at full tilt across just one and a half days.
England entered this Test on the back of a nine-day break, but 25 overs in this heat — temperature consistently in the mid-30s — is still quite the run out for any fast bowler, let alone for one that’ll be turning 42 in five months’ time.
With the Rajkot wicket proving to be even flatter than the one in Vizag a fortnight ago, Anderson, having toiled extremely hard, would have hoped for a nice one-and-a-half day rest in order to recharge himself for the second innings.
However, less than 24 hours later, the veteran found himself in the middle once again, in the sweltering heat, getting ready to take the new ball for the second innings.
In the last year or so, much has been spoken about how England’s batting approach puts their bowlers in a really tough spot. The ‘score runs as quickly as possible’ mantra makes it an exciting watch for spectators, but the tactic ultimately is a bane for the bowlers, who get little to no rest in between innings.
Across Days 3 & 4 of this Test, the England bowlers felt the full effect of Bazball as with no energy left in the tank; they got absolutely walloped as India marauded 430 runs in 98 overs for the loss of just four wickets without breaking a sweat.
Nobody felt the effect of Bazball more than 41-year-old Anderson. Heading into India’s second innings, Anderson had not even bowled a bad over in the entire series, let alone a bad spell. The veteran had sent down 60 overs at an astonishing economy of 2.28 and had kept the Indian batters on their toes through some exceptional bowling.
He was outstanding in the first innings of this Test too, but the right-armer looked a shadow of his own self on Day 3 as he got pummeled for 32 runs in the six overs that he bowled. Anderson, on Day 3, was down on pace, uncharacteristically inaccurate and induced a false shot percentage of just 8.3%.
For once, he really felt the effects of Bazball.
Anderson still went back to the dressing room on Day 3 with his head firmly up, but that wasn’t the case on Day 4. On Day 3, he felt the effect of Bazball alone, but Day 4 saw Anderson feeling the effects of both Bazball and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The day started well enough for the veteran, who conceded just nine runs off the first four overs he bowled. The surface was offering absolutely nothing but Anderson was still on the money and managed to keep the Indian batters in check.
However, things took a brutal turn — for the worse — post-lunch. A chastening, humiliating three-over spell saw Anderson concede an eye-watering 36 runs off the three overs he bowled.
Anderson has had his fair share of humbling moments in his career — the George Bailey assault in 2013, the Rishabh Pant carnage in 2021 — but he has seldom looked as defeated as he did post lunch on Day 4, as Jaiswal smashed him for a hat-trick of sixes.
After being tonked for the third of the three sixes — a flat hit straight down the ground — the veteran had a wry smile on his face. The expression on his face almost tended to suggest that he had no choice but to accept his fate.
Eventually, Anderson finished with 0/78 off the 13 overs he bowled. These figures look ‘okay’, but in his 21-year-long career, never has Anderson been more expensive in an innings in which he’s bowled 12 or more overs.
Prior to this Test, there was a big suspicion that Anderson might be rested for the fourth Test in Ranchi, due to the short turnaround time between the two games. At this point, Anderson not playing the fourth Test looks like a certainty.
It’s a shame because most of this could have been avoided had England’s batters applied themselves better with the bat in the first innings.
Bazball ain’t perfect. Jimmy Anderson now knows this better than anyone else.
