When Bazball proved to be too costly for England bowlers

Kuldeep goes wide to Duckett

29 runs off 16 deliveries at a strike rate of 181.3 - this is what Ben Duckett did to Kuldeep Yadav on day two of the ongoing Test in Rajkot. The left-arm wrist-spinner bowled a lot of deliveries closer to Duckett and the left-hander swept him at will. 

Kuldeep, however, came up with a different plan on day three, bowling much wider which helped him contain Duckett from playing the sweep. This is a fairly obvious plan for someone who enjoys sweeping a lot and Kuldeep’s execution was top-notch.

11 runs off 17 deliveries at a strike rate of 64.7 - this is all that Duckett could manage against Kuldeep on day three. What’s more, Duckett also got out to him after scoring 153 off 151. The opener hit a short and wide delivery straight to the fielder at cover. The only good thing about this delivery was thet it was outside Duckett’s sweeping zone.

England lacking partnerships in middle order

58, 113, 114, 95 and 182 - these are England’s scores in this series at the fall of their second wicket. They have got starts in every innings but the middle order has failed to capitalise almost every single time. England's partnerships for the first two wickets in this series have an average of 56.2, which drops to 22.6 for the wicket order three to five, with Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow being the major culprits.

On day three, England were 224/2 at one stage before Root tried to reverse scoop Jasprit Bumrah and threw his wicket away. Once he was dismissed, England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 319. They lost eight wickets for 95 runs and allowed India to get away with a lead of 126 runs. Meanwhile, Bairstow couldn’t even open his account. 

England have got nothing so far from Root and Bairstow. While the former has scored only 70 runs in five innings at an average of 14, Bairstow has 98 runs @ 19.6. We all know how important it is to build partnerships in these conditions, especially if the surface is this good, but England’s middle order hasn’t done that in this series. To be more precise, Root and Bairstow haven’t done that.  

“Bazball” affecting England bowlers?

Imagine you have to bowl 130.5 overs in the first innings, then watch your team get bowled out in 71.1 overs, then come back again and bowl 51 overs more - all this inside three days of a Test match. Add to that, probably 60-70 overs of more bowling on day four. Of course, this will leave you tired. This is what is happening with England bowlers in this Test. 

The England batters like to score at a good pace but it’s of no point if they end up conceding a lead of more than 100 in the first innings and ask their bowlers to do the heavy job once again in the second innings. 86 overs on day one, 46.5 on day two and 51 on day three - England bowlers have been in action on every day of this Test. As a result, they looked out of energy in the third session of day three.

James Anderson and Mark Wood didn’t operate at the same pace they did in the first innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made their lives even more difficult. 152/1 in 35 overs  at a run-rate of 4.34 - this is what India did in the last session and have more or less taken full control of the game. 

The hosts were 75/1 at the end of 26 overs, with Jaiswal on 35 off 73, but that’s when he said enough is enough and whacked Anderson for two fours and a six in one over. There was a phase where India smashed 63 runs in the space of seven overs. Jaiswal hit 65 off his next 49 balls and completed his third Test ton. 

Gill was more sedate but still smacked six fours and two sixes in his 120-ball 65*. Anderson and Wood conceded 70 runs combined in their 14 overs and looked far from their best. What Duckett did to India in the third session on day two, Jaiswal did the same to England on day three. If England don’t come up with something special in the first hour of day four, this game will go only in one direction and that’s India’s.

More pointers from day three

Workhorse Siraj does what he does best to help India take control

Why Bairstow’s barren run is as problematic as Root’s slump

Explained: Why India won’t be allowed to replace Ashwin in the playing XI