Stumps – England trail by 56
38th over: England 78-4 (Batty 0, Root 36) The wicket means this is final over of a day on which India effectively took a dormie two lead in the series. Batty comes in as the nightwatchman while, from the non-striker’s end, Root surveys the burning deck. This will probably be over tomorrow. Cheers for reading, bye.
Updated
Wicket! Stokes lbw b Ashwin 5
And the decision is overturned! Pitched on middle and leg, it turned past the edge and would have hit off.
Review!
Ashwin returns and he immediately hits Stokes on the pad. While they’re appealing the ball shoots away to the boundary. It’s given as runs, upon seeing which Kohli reviews. Given not out but he’s missed it...
37th over: England 78-3 (Stokes 5, Root 36) There are two slips and a silly point for Root against Jadeja. England could probably do with a single just to have the right-hander against the off-spinner and the leftie against the left-armer. And whaddya know? Root gets one off the last ball with a push into the off-side.
36th over: England 77-3 (Stokes 5, Root 35) Six balls from Jayant, after the last of which Ben Stokes is not out. And that’s all that matters for England at this stage. We’ve probably got time for three more overs after this one.
35th over: England 77-3 (Stokes 5, Root 35) As suspected more changes: Jadeja replaces Shami. He has Root in all sorts of trouble, pushed right back and inside edging on to his pads.
Oh go on then, let’s do it again.
34th over: England 76-3 (Stokes 5, Root 34) Between the overs Joe Root has some treatment, which appears to involve a large man giving him a bear hug from behind and wrestling him from side to side. Rather him than me. One off this one.
33rd over: England 75-3 (Stokes 5, Root 33) Four to Stokes, crushing a short one off his ribs and square on the leg-side to the rope. With a vertical bat, too. Outstanding, if futile, stuff. Two overs to go, so there will be sundries.
Trevor Bayliss Stephen Brown asks: “Apologies if you have covered this (in what I’m sure was not just informative, but witty and erudite as well); but how long/how many wickets do we need to wait before Hameed is allowed to come in? Surely we could do with passing some time and get a small lead today before accelerating our lead to 200/250 tomorrow morning.”
Er, I’m pretty sure he can bat now so I can only assume he’s still not fit to. The rest of your email might be the most hopelessly optimistic thing I’ve ever read.
32nd over: England 71-3 (Stokes 1, Root 33) Bairstow clips wide of midwicket very nicely for two but that’s the last of his contribution today. Stokes the new man and he’s away with a push to mid-off. Hello darkness my old friend.
“Short of the Yorkshire boys (I include Stokes in this because I want to), there are very few playing who look like England cricketers,” HONKs Mr. A Wilson.
Wicket! Bairstow c Patel b Jayant 15
Excellent catch behind the stumps. Jayant pushes it through from round the wicket, the ball keeps low and Bairstow jabs his bat down outside off, only to nick it. Patel does well to get down and hold the catch.
Updated
31st over: England 68-2 (Bairstow 13, Root 33) Maybe there’s a very, very small sliver of reverse there for Shami. It’s almost imperceptible if there is. There’s a double appeal against Root, first for lbw and then for the catch; it was missing leg-stump and no one is especially convinced he’s hit it. Four byes, flung down leg, from the last ball.
Lee Smith writes: “I think it probably true to say India have the better spinners and England are in the main just not used to playing spinners of that quality for an extended period such as this tour. There is no shame in admitting that India are the better team in home conditions, but it’s just that England do get into promising positions only to let them slip away. That is the real kick in the shins.”
30th over: England 64-2 (Bairstow 13, Root 33) Third ball Bairstow wants a run to mid-on but Root, the striker, says no. And from the final ball we just about see why: a bullet throw to the striker’s end has Bairstow hurriedly scampering into his crease and relieved the throw was wide.
29th over: England 63-2 (Bairstow 13, Root 32) Not much by way of reverse swing for Shami – rather he’s angling it in from very wide. This probably won’t be an especially long spell.
I’m going to ask that you don’t keep sending me your snaps of random people who look like England cricketers. One, they’re a pain to upload, and two, some of them really aren’t very good.
28th over: England 62-2 (Bairstow 13, Root 31) Ooh crafty from Shami. Bairstow cuts out to deep point and Shami sets off in pursuit, stopping it just inside the rope by stepping firmly on it. He saves three and no doubt roughs it up just a smidgeon more. That accounts for 50% of the runs off the over and the only ones not scored off the edge of the bat.
27th over: England 56-2 (Bairstow 8, Root 30) Back to pace and the tantalising possibility of reverse swing, with Shami replacing Jadeja. “Stumps in play” says his captain, which makes this line well wide of off all the more perplexing. Speaking of perplexing, 66% of viewers voted for Ashwin and Jadeja over Harbhajan and Kumble, which shows you: democracy doesn’t work. Still.
John Starbuck writes: “Dan,Just got back from the local surgery (a checkup, thanks for asking) to discover we have lost two wickets. But also people are betting on how many we’ll have down at a certain score. So what kind of currency is a barb? Is it replacing the rupee?” You know I was secretly hoping I wasn’t the only one who had no idea.
26th over: England 53-2 (Bairstow 6, Root 29) Time for Ashwin to have a rest, so on comes Jayant. Absolutely nothing on offer for Root, who gets a big meaty inside edge on to his pads and thus prompts momentary excitement.
@DanLucas86 Two of England's recently more successful batsmen at the crease,England's only chance to salvage this Test.It's now or never !!!
— Swaminathan Sendhil (@theswami) November 28, 2016
Well, now through to deep into tomorrow’s first session, ideally.
25th over: England 53-2 (Bairstow 6, Root 29) Aw this is disappointing. The fan question on the telly begins: “Which spin pair would you rather have in your team.” Sadly one of the options is not “Moeen Ali & Gareth Batty”. Alas it’s Ashwin & Jadeja v Harbhajan and Kumble. Bairstow gets four here, driving Jadeja against the spin and through mid-on to the fence.
24th over: England 48-2 (Bairstow 2, Root 27) “If Joe root fails again...” begins Robert Sim.
He looks comfortable enough in this over, at least. He nurdles Collingwood-esque into the leg-side for the only run from it.
23rd over: England 47-2 (Bairstow 2, Root 25) This is a good idea from Bairstow, walking away to square-leg between deliveries and making Jadeja wait, disrupting his rhtythm. Second slip has come out now, which is a very, very minor victory for England.
22nd over: England 47-2 (Bairstow 2, Root 25) “Of course India has better spinners,” writes Alastair Cook Martin Hamilton, “but a big part of it must also be that our batsmen are not as good as theirs at playing spin. Tentative play makes a bowler look better than he is.” Yeah that is a good question, which someone posed before this series: is England’s biggest problem their bowling of spin or their batting against it? Root gets the first boundary for 17 overs with a nice back-foot push through extra cover.
21st over: England 40-2 (Bairstow 1, Root 21) In comes Jonny Bairstow so, so much earlier than he would have liked. It was a wonderfully flighted ball from Ashwin in the last over, but I hate to say Botham is right: it was a half-hearted shot from Moeen. Bairstow gets off the mark backing away and just squeezing off a cut.
20th over: England 39-2 (Root 21) Sigh.
Updated
Wicket! Moeen c Jayant b Ashwin 5
Moeen becomes the latest to be beaten by the flight. He comes down the track, checks his shot and lifts it to mid-on, who barely has to move. The players take drinks – England need a stiff one.
19th over: England 37-1 (Moeen 4, Root 20) The deficit is down to double figures, although that will be of little comfort now. Moeen is beaten by a proper grubber, then only a fumble from cover prevents nerves jangling when he takes a scampered single. Another lbw appeal, again turned down as it’s missing leg, to finish the over.
18th over: England 35-1 (Moeen 3, Root 19) I’ve been a bit harsh on Patel there: a slow-mo replay reveals it just about missed Moeen’s outside edge. One off the over.
17th over: England 34-1 (Moeen 3, Root 18) Moeen is dropped! He pushes forward to Jadeja and gets the thinnest nick, but it’s enough to deceive Patel, who fumbles it to the floor. Next ball he inside edges on to his pads before gasping at the oxygen of runs, hurrying through for a couple out to cover. Obviously this pitch is less of a road for India’s spinners, because they’re better. Cricket is a simple game sometimes.
16th over: England 31-1 (Moeen 1, Root 17) A single to Root means Moeen now faces Ashwin for the first time, two slips circling the bat as the ball turns away from the left hander from round the wicket. Moeen is looking to smother what little turn there is by stepping down the wicket, which sounds like a good plan to me. There’s half an appeal for lbw but it was missing leg.
15th over: England 30-1 (Moeen 1, Root 16) And now Moeen Ali has batted in all three positions in the top three. He’s off the mark with the easiest of singles to mid-on, although if he thinks that’s indicative of how easy batting is going to be against these spinners he has another think coming: Root nicks a sharply bouncing ball up to gully, then thanks his lucky stars there is no one there.
14th over: England 27-1 (Root 14) Ravi Ashwin is not a happy man: Joe Root is stood very close to the umpire so he can assist Cook in deciding whether or not to review any lbws. That’s of precisely zero use when you leave a big gap between bat and pad, and cordially invite the ball through it, mind.
Wicket! Cook b Ashwin 12
Oh this is gorgeous. Floated up and Cook, beaten in the flight, sees the ball go through the gate and into his stumps.
13th over: England 27-0 (Cook 12, Root 14) Silly point and a slip for Root against the slow (well, nominally slow) left-armer. He comes down the track and is hit on the pad pushing forward but the ball hits him outside the line of off. It’s certainly livened up a bit.
12th over: England 25-0 (Cook 11, Root 13) Runs! Two of them to Cook, despite being slow on the turn, thanks to a nice push through extra cover. Kohli has, at the behest of his wicketkeeper, brought in a second slip and Ashwin slides a straight one past Cook’s outside edge.
Someone has spotted my conflicting statements.
@DanLucas86 Quite a lot happening on a naff all pitch, eh Dan? You sure we'll reach 76 before 6 down? Wager of 100 barbs more then, good lad
— Bharat Tiwari (@Dr_amatist) November 28, 2016
79.
11th over: England 23-0 (Cook 9, Root 13) “I like this shot!” cheers Parthiv Patel behind the stumps when Root shovels into the leg-side for no run. Understandable given how quickly he pushes the ball through.
10th over: England 23-0 (Cook 9, Root 13) Root gets a single off of Ashwin’s second ball, before Cook gets his second reprieve in a matter of minutes. India getting through their overs quicker than I can describe them at the moment. Also if you manually refresh this page, it’ll correct any mistakes I might have made in the last couple of overs.
Not out!
It’s pitched outside leg so the decision is overturned.
Review!
Cook’s been given this time, lbw to Ashwin, but he reviews. He hasn’t hit it...
Updated
9th over: England 22-0 (Cook 9, Root 12) There are at least 27 overs left in the day and at this rate we’ll get a few extra thrown in for good measure. Jadeja positively whirls through the first five balls of his second at the cost of a single to Root, before a review delays us for far too long.
Also you’ll notice I described the last over as a maiden, which was a massive lie. Cook got a couple of runs that I missed. Good start under our new head of sport, Lucas. I might pretend that was Simon Burnton.
Not out!
“Still waiting for the ball tracking Marais ... still waiting for the ball tracking Marais ... still waiting for the ball tracking Marais ... still waiting, still waiting Marais ... they’re still building up Marais ... is it coming up there ... it’s coming! It’s coming up!” says Dharmasena. A ridiculously interminable wait for Hawkeye frustrates all involved for a good couple of minutes. This must be embarrassing for the broadcaster. And it eventually shows that the ball was spinning a mile past leg stump!
Review!
Cook is pinned back on the crease and hit on the pad, and India are convinced. Not out said Erasmus but this looks very close.
8th over: England 21-0 (Cook 9, Root 11) This is perhaps a bit too full from Ashwin to Cook. Cook gets two with a shovel to midwicket.
Updated
7th over: England 19-0 (Cook 7, Root 11) And now it’s spin from both ends as Jadeja replaces Shami, who was a touch profligate in that last over. He’s not getting much turn from round the wicket to Root, but he is pushing it through to keep Root watchful. He has half a shout for lbw when the batsman goes back and is beaten, but it was missing leg I’ll wager.
6th over: England 19-0 (Cook 7, Root 11) A single to mid-on for Cook gives Root the strike, and another to backward point ensures he’ll keep it. Meanwhile it’s a big day here at Guardian towers...
New week, new job: start today as head of @guardian_sport. NB story tips still v much welcome.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) November 28, 2016
5th over: England 17-0 (Cook 6, Root 10) “Catch it!” is the shout when Root gloves a bumper. Presumably there’s a sense of mild embarrassment immediately afterwards when everyone realises there is no short-leg. Root, for what it’s worth, comes away with sore fingers and a single. A leg-bye, then Root creams a lovely drive off the front foot, square through the off-side for four and picks up two with a pull to mid-on.
4th over: England 9-0 (Cook 6, Root 3) Spin already, with Ashwin into the attack. Slip, short-leg and a short-ish extra cover for Cook, who plays out a swift maiden with little fuss.
3rd over: England 9-0 (Cook 6, Root 3) Ooh this is nice from Shami, a straight one skidding through quickly and forcing Root right back, the batsman jamming his bat down just in time to save his middle stump. Two singles from the over, the second of which is Cook’s 10,928th in Test cricket, taking him past Steve Waugh and into the top 10.
“Morning Dan.” Morning, Lee Smith. “With the news of Sir Roderick’s headlining, this particular song accurately reflects England’s relationship with this match.”
2nd over: England 7-0 (Cook 5, Root 2) It’s Umesh Yadav from t’other end and he’s expensive-ish. Root pushes the first ball for a single then, when the bowler comes round the wicket to the left-handed Cook, England’s captain gets off the mark straight away by cutting a short, wide bit of filth to the point boundary. Umesh overcorrects his line, goes too straight and the pair of batsmen work him off the pads for two more singles.
1st over: England 0-0 (Cook 0, Root 0) So England begin their journey to 79 for six at stumps. Nasser Hussain reckons Moeen will bat at No3, his county position and the only one in the top nine he hasn’t batted for England. Cook, back in his crease, watches one shoot very low past his off stump. Shami is the bowler, by the way.
The players are back out. Joe Root will open as Hameed was off the field having treatment at the end of India’s innings.
In other news I’ve just had an email announcing that Rod Stewart will headline the Isle of Wight festival this year. Arcade Fire are also headlining. That’s weird.
Although Kim Thonger has other ideas. “The concensus in the Thonger household, after Dakkers the Dachshund used his chairman’s casting vote, is that we should open aggressively with Buttler and Stokes, knock off the deficit in the first ten overs and then settle for four an over until stumps. Bit of a charge in the first hour tomorrow, declare, bowl them out by tea. Series all square. Job done. On to the next one.”
@DanLucas86 Do you think England will go for a result or play the blocking game ?!?! They've got champion blockers in Hamed/Cap'n Cook.
— Swaminathan Sendhil (@theswami) November 28, 2016
I think this is beyond them. England will presumably go slowly and look to bat long, on the off chance of an Indian collapse on a day five minefield. Oh for Stuart Broad.
Tea
They appear to have taken an early tea. Meanwhile Kevin Wilson has a question: “Over the last year, Stokes averages nearly 50 with the bat and 24 with the ball. Add in Rashid’s increasing reliance and I’m not sure it looks good for Moeen. England could play most of next Summer with Stokes/Bairstow/Woakes/Rashid/Broad/Anderson as their 6-11. Picking your five best batsmen is then a real option, with no worries about whether they can bowl. Does Moeen make that side?”
He has three centuries at 43 this year, with a top score of 155. So yes.
India 417 all out
139th over: India 417 (Shami 1) That’s that, then. Stokes finishes with fine figures of 26.2-5-73-5. India lead by 134. See you in five minutes or so.
Wicket! Umesh c Bairstow b Stokes 12
It all ends in somewhat muted fashion: Umesh props forward, nicks one that reverses away, and Ben Stokes has a fine five-fer.
138th over: India 417-9 (Shami 1, Umesh 12) Ch-ch-ch-changes with bat and ball now: Cook realises his mistake and brings Rashid back for Moeen, while Mohammed Shami comes out to bat. Umesh clubs violently down the ground for one to bring the new man, a proper slogger, on strike and Shami gets under way with a cut for one. Umesh wants to play his shots here, but when he does connect he’s only picking out fielders. Three off the over.
Go on then...
137th over: India 414-9 (Umesh 10) Ah Alastair. Stokes bangs one in short and Umesh sends a thick outside edge to the England captain’s right. It’s a very simple catch and Cook gets there easily but, perhaps fatigued by now, he drops it. Oh for- They took a single bringing Jayant on strike and he too nicks one, fuller this time, and Bairstow dives too late, missing the chance and allowing it through for four. Jos Buttler must be almost as annoyed as Stokes, who barely celebrates the wicket from the last ball.
We're into full-on existentialism now @DanLucas86. 150 lead or more & it's ultimate scoreboard pressure, and we now how that works out....
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) November 28, 2016
Wicket! Jayant c Moeen b Stokes 55
That’s an odd one. Jayant, having batted so well, reaches for a slow one outside off and can only hoik it tamely to Moeen at midwicket. Still, well batted.
136th over: India 408-8 (Jayant 51, Umesh 9) It really is perplexing that Moeen is on now, turning it into the right-handers. A couple of singles, not even the threat of a threat and the lead is up to 125.
135th over: India 406-8 (Jayant 50, Umesh 8) Jayant pushes the first ball of Stokes’s over through point and takes the single, bringing up his maiden Test half-century in the process. He’s batted perfectly today.
Inderpal Sokhy is bleedin’ furious. “The wheels have come off England’s wagon.Playing for a draw.Already throwing in the towell.Over after over bowling to 10th stump hopiing for a wicket trying to catch the batsmen out.With a poor shot. Poor.Poor cricket. Utter dross. Run out of ideas. Deserve to be beaten in this test. Where is Bayliss?”
Well Bayliss is on the sidelines as you’d expect. As for the bowling, there is precisely naff all in this pitch, so it’s a case of bowling dry and preventing India from racking up masses of runs quickly. It’s boring, yes, but needs must on this road.
134th over: India 405-8 (Jayant 49, Umesh 8) With Umesh now on strike, Moeen comes on for a bowl. Not sure I see the reasoning behind that, with Rashid looking for a fiver-fer, but then I’m not a Test cricket captain (insert your own jokes about Cook here). Actually he has a shout for lbw first ball but there’s enough turn that it was slipping down leg by six inches or so. Umesh celebrates his survival by slog sweeping over midwicket for six! That’s the 400 for India.
133rd over: India 399-8 (Jayant 49, Umesh 2) Ben Stokes nearly ruins everything, beating Jayant’s outside edge with one that nips away off the seam a touch. A maiden.
“Afternoon Dan,” begins Bharat Tiwari, who seems to be rubbing it in with that opening. “Now that Ol Blighty’s charging hordes have deprived the gentle Indians of Centuries - individual or partnerships - twice. (We did get a centenary worth of a lead though, tut tut) let’s take a wager of a hundred barbs that it’ll be a case of 3rd time lucky and Jayant storms to a maiden century - of his long test career and of this match, that we all know the end of, shall we?” Kohli should declare once he reaches the 90s. It’ll be character building.
132nd over: India 399-8 (Jayant 49, Umesh 2) Tidy from Rashid, who is bowling round the wicket and is so far wide that he’s in danger of bowling a back-foot no-ball. Although he’s probably not in danger of being penalised for one given that I’m not sure umpires even bother to look for that any more. Back in my day etc. Jayant adds a couple with a roughish cut down to third man and heaves a single out to deep midwicket with an even uglier shot.
My early morning friend Ian Copestake writes: “Addled as I am by this lame duck of a pitch and its effect on our chances, I wonder if Buttler at first change (2nd over) might lift spirits by hurtling us towards knocking off this 150 lead before the pitch turns hellish.” Buttler, for what it’s worth, has bowled two First Class overs with combined figures of 0-11.
131st over: India 396-8 (Jayant 46, Umesh 2) Cheers Simon. I join you with news that a poll on the telly has just revealed that 52% of viewers think Jadeja’s approach was correct, 48% disagree. With numbers like that, it’s safe to say we should definitely ignore that poll. Back on the field and there’s a bowling change! Stokes is on for James Milner Batty and probes Jayant with a bit of short stuff, which the batsman ducks under. He drives a wide, full one out through cover point for a single.
@DanLucas86 If Jayant Yadav gets to 50, it'd mean that each of our spinners scored more runs than they conceded in England's first dig :)
— Energumen (@hubli) November 28, 2016
That’s a 100% bona fide statgasm. Outstanding work.
130th over: India 395-8 (Jayant Yadav 45, Umesh Yadav 2) Rashid rolls out his long hop again, and Jayant gives it some punishment. Then, off his 18th delivery, Umesh gets off the mark with a couple through square leg. This batting lark is looking remarkably easy. And with that the players take drinks and I take my leave. Dan Lucas will see you through the rest of the day; email him here or tweet him here. Bye!
129th over: India 388-8 (Jayant Yadav 40, Umesh Yadav 0) India have scored a combined total of 14 runs off 13 of the last 14 overs. The other one went for 16.
128th over: India 387-8 (Jayant Yadav 39, Umesh Yadav 0) ... and another from Rashid’s. So did Jadeja throw away his wicket after a temporary loss of discipline and sanity, or was he doing what he was told?
127th over: India 386-8 (Jayant Yadav 38, Umesh Yadav 0) If the team orders were to hit big, hard and fast, they didn’t survive the end of Jadeja. Just a single from Batty’s over.
126th over: India 385-8 (Jayant Yadav 37, Umesh Yadav 0) India’s lead has now reached triple figures, standing as it does at 102 runs. Three more for Jayant from Rashid’s latest over, with Umesh having faced 10 deliveries without scoring.
125th over: India 382-8 (Jayant Yadav 34, Umesh Yadav 0) England will want to wrap this up now in short order. Having said that, Umesh Yadav’s highest first-class score is 128* and Jayant’s is 211, so they might be here a while yet.
124th over: India 381-8 (Jayant Yadav 33, Umesh Yadav 0) This is all very rum. Before the start of the over the batsmen have their eyes trained on the India balcony, so much so that the commentators start speculating about a possible declaration. Certainly something happened to persuade Jadeja that a slow, patient march to a century wasn’t really for him, and that he should start thrashing the ball around wildly instead. That didn’t work out, or maybe it did, depending.
WICKET! Jadeja c Woakes b Rashid 90 (India 381-8)
Breakthrough! Woakes is taken out of the attack and immediately has a hand in a wicket, as Jadeja tries to hammer Rashid down the ground for six, doesn’t quite make it, and Woakes takes the catch a couple of strides from the boundary!
123rd over: India 381-7 (Jadeja 90, Jayant Yadav 33) Back to some semblance of sanity, as Batty gives away a couple of singles.
Getting the horrible feeling that if India are kind enough to let us have a bat later, we will be 86/6 at some point @Simon_Burnton
— Steve Pye (@1980sSportsBlog) November 28, 2016
122nd over: India 379-7 (Jadeja 89, Jayant Yadav 32) Kapow! Blammo! Thwack! Woakes’ first three deliveries are smacked about by Jadeja, the first and third to long on, and second past point. The first shows a deliberate change in emphasis, anticipating the delivery, taking a strong stride forward and swishing it away with some violence. A few quiet moments follow, but then the last is swiped through midwicket for four more. The over-by-over scores since lunch: 1-2-0-1-0-1-16.
121st over: India 363-7 (Jadeja 73, Jayant Yadav 32) Batty, whose five overs yesterday cost about 5.5 runs each, is sorting out his economy rate today. Just a single off this one, and he’s doen to 3.60.
Followed by another message on the big screen from Ivor's travelling companion Roger Minge. https://t.co/sRxTgdmLgW
— Nick Hoult (@NHoultCricket) November 28, 2016
120th over: India 361-7 (Jadeja 72, Jayant Yadav 32) Woakes’ first delivery passes outside off stump and draws a loose shot from Jayant, who waves his bat at it limply and only just misses. He retreats back into his shell, and it’s a maiden.
119th over: India 361-7 (Jadeja 72, Jayant Yadav 32) Batty bowls, and Jayant grabs a single.
@Simon_Burnton Morning, Simon. I'm with Mr. Biggun. Is there a link to the scoreboard, please?
— William Hargreaves (@billhargreaves) November 28, 2016
Yes, I do! It’s right here. Sorry I didn’t link to it earlier.
118th over: India 361-7 (Jadeja 72, Jayant Yadav 31) Woakes bowls round the wicket at Jadeja, and keeps sending it down straight as you like, well wide of off stump. Jadeja watches them go by. Ian Copestake emails: “The wide balls designed to test one’s patience are working a treat. Job done, England. Now do something else yeah?”
117th over: India 361-7 (Jadeja 72, Jayant Yadav 31) A single each for the two batsmen from Batty’s over. England need to do something to change a narrative of slow but remorseless lead-building from India, who look at the moment like they might still be here this time tomorrow.
116th over: India 359-7 (Jadeja 71, Jayant Yadav 30) Woakes bowls and Stokes misfields at cover, and though the ball’s not going very fast, someone mops up behind him, and it only costs a run, he lies on the turf head in hands as if he’s just dropped a sitter before picking himself up morosely and waving apologetically at anyone who’ll look in his direction.
115th over: India 358-7 (Jadeja 71, Jayant Yadav 29) Yadav tickles the ball down to third man, where it’s stopped a foot from the rope. “What’s going on with the crowd?” wonders Paul Crossley. “A bit odd no? I thought the Indian cricket team were god-like figures. Is everyone now so bored with Test cricket that they don’t bother anymore?” I don’t think Mohali is renowned for ever attracting great crowds. Wikipedia says its population is just 176,152, making it about the same size as Wigan.
The players are back out and ready to roll.
Jadeja has never scored more than 31 runs in a losing cause, and when he exceeds 32 India always win.
Ravindra Jadeja highest Test scores & results
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) November 28, 2016
70*
68 WON
50* WON
43 WON
42* WON
38 WON
34 WON
32* DRAWN
31 DRAWN
31 LOST
30* LOST#IndvEng
Someone’s been reading Viz.
Cheering message from a "fan" appears on the big screen in Mohali: "Come on England - from Ivor Biggun."
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) November 28, 2016
Sky have their lunchtime cameras focused on Haseeb Hameed, who played no part in the morning’s activities as he nurses a hand injury, but as I type is in the nets and looking happy enough. So that’s some good news for the tourists, because the way things are going they’ll need every batsman they’ve got and quite possibly a few more besides.
So, undoubtedly India’s session. On the downside for England, they haven’t really worried India’s batsmen. On the plus side for England, India’s batsmen haven’t really been worried. I’ll be back in a little bit.
Lunch: India lead by 71
114th over: India 354-7 (Jadeja 70, Jayant Yadav 26) Rashid completes the session with its fourth maiden. If the day dawned on a world full of potential and possibility for both sides, there’s only one that will be feeling similarly buoyant at lunch.
113th over: India 354-7 (Jadeja 70, Jayant Yadav 26) Batty’s over finishes at one minutes before the hour, so they’re going to squeeze in one more before lunch.
112th over: India 352-7 (Jadeja 69, Jayant Yadav 25) The crowd applauds politely as the 50 partnership comes up. These late-innings stands are really inconveniencing England. “While we are at experiments (ref over 107), should India just reverse the batting order given current form?” wonders Mahendra Killedar. “It might help England dismiss Ashwin cheaply but could backfire if Rahane gets going!!”
111th over: India 350-7 (Jadeja 68, Jayant Yadav 24) The crowd applauds politely as India’s score reaches 350. It really is a very small crowd though, certainly not big enough to applaud wildly, something that a few dozen people spread across a very large area aren’t really capable of achieving.
110th over: India 347-7 (Jadeja 66, Jayant Yadav 23) Instant replay: an England spinner bowls, Jadeja takes a single from the first delivery and Jayant sees out the rest. Batty last over, Rashid this.
109th over: India 347-7 (Jadeja 66, Jayant Yadav 23) Here’s Gareth Batty! He rips through his over, which wooshes past in no time at all, with Jadeja stealing a single off the first. No visiting team in India has ever overhauled a first-innings deficit as large as this, I’m told.
108th over: India 346-7 (Jadeja 65, Jayant Yadav 23) Jadeja takes a sharp single to mid off, where Anderson fields and takes aim at the stumps at the bowler’s end, misses them, and the ball flies away to the rope, the overflows taking India’s lead beyond 60.
107th over: India 339-7 (Jadeja 60, Jayant Yadav 22) Another over for Stokes, and another single for Jadeja. Thoughts are turning to lunch, and unless something significant happens in the next 20 minutes there’s no doubt which team will be enjoying it more. “It has been confirmed,” writes Ian Copestake, “that Gareth Batty has been included as part of a scientific experiment to record a man while he ages.”
106th over: India 338-7 (Jadeja 59, Jayant Yadav 22) England only had three partnerships more productive than this one has been for India. So far they’ve scored 37 to take India’s lead to 55. Sky meanwhile show slow-motion replays of Jadeja’s bat-twirling for the gazillionth time, it being the most photogenic highlight of the day thus far (but still, enough).
105th over: India 337-7 (Jadeja 58, Jayant Yadav 22) A maiden from Stokes, half of it bowled round the wicket and half over the wicket, Jadeja happy to leave it all alone.
104th over: India 336-7 (Jadeja 58, Jayant Yadav 21) Rashid shows us his vicious wicket-taking long hop, and Jayant smashes it away for four.
Updated
103rd over: India 332-7 (Jadeja 58, Jayant Yadav 17) Stokes repeatedly bowls wide to Jadeja, who’s not interested in chasing the ball, and twice bowls much too wide, handing India bonus runs.
102nd over: India 330-7 (Jadeja 58, Jayant Yadav 17) Rashid continues, and a few singles are conceded. Jayant’s playing nicely, defending well when necessary and scoring pretty rapidly, with just a couple of awkward moments against Stokes.
101st over: India 327-7 (Jadeja 56, Jayant Yadav 16) Stokes bowls, and Jadeja hits nicely down the ground for four, Anderson sprinting after the ball, diving desperately and reaching it only just too late. India lead by 44.
100th over: India 320-7 (Jadeja 50, Jayant Yadav 15) Rashid has a bowl for the first time today, and Jadeja completes that half-century and wheels out his bat-spinning elebration. Brian Withington, meanwhile, has finished the Revenant. “Well that was another grim hour’s viewing - time to switch over to the cricket and hope for a somewhat more cheerful outcome,” he writes. “Stokes as an avenging DiCaprio, perhaps, but not sure about the Tom Hardy role?” Hmmm, as I recall he mainly mumbles a lot and kills people? There are, thankfully, no obvious candidates.
99th over: India 318-7 (Jadeja 49, Jayant Yadav 14) Jadeja has now faced 102 balls; his two previous Test half-centuries were much quicker, with a 50no off 58 balls against New Zealand in Kanpur a couple of months back, and the previous highlight a 57-ball 68 at Lord’s in 2014. A third is but a single run away.
First time in his Test career Ravindra Jadeja has batted over 100 balls in a Test inns
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) November 28, 2016
Prev:98 balls at Trent Bridge 2014 (31 runs)#indvEng
98th over: India 313-7 (Jadeja 48, Jayant Yadav 10) Anderson’s first ball is straight and full, and Jayant spears it straight back past him for four. Then he pushes past point for four more. Two decent shots, those.
97th over: India 304-7 (Jadeja 48, Jayant Yadav 1) Stokes slams the ball in short, and Jayant waves his bat at it awkwardly. Then the last is pitched much fuller, keeps low, and is leading-edged to third man. Apparently Ashwin’s wicket was Buttler’s 50th catch in Test cricket, but his first without the gloves on.
96th over: India 302-7 (Jadeja 47, Jayant 0) Anderson bowls, and Jadeja takes his single off the last ball. So the Mail report this morning that England are going to “revert to their traditional cream kit” when New Balance take over production duties from Adidas next year. “The move will delight purists who felt aggrieved when the Test side adopted their dazzling all-white strip in 2008,” they say, adding that after the change “the familiar cable knit effect will extend throughout the whole sweater, instead of being limited to the area below the armpits”. Ah, the great white-kit crisis of 2008, I remember it well. And good news for cable-knit fans, which is all of us, surely?
95th over: India 301-7 (Jadeja 46, Jayant 0) A wicket maiden, and England needed that! At the over’s end Stokes immediately jogs off the field, presumably for a comfort break, or to snarf another tin of spinach, Pop-eye style, to continued superhero effect.
WICKET! Ashwin c Buttler b Stokes 72 (India 301-7)
Stokes bowls, and makes the breakthrough! Ashwin tries to drive but slices the ball straight to backward point, where Buttler takes a good low catch!
94th over: India 301-6 (Ashwin 72, Jadeja 46) Anderson bowls a maiden, the first in 20 overs. So that’s something.
93rd over: India 301-6 (Ashwin 72, Jadeja 46) Woakes continues, Jadeja banks his single again, off the second ball, and Ashwin caresses the next through the covers for four. It’s a fine shot, and he clearly enjoyed it as well as he does it again a few balls later.
Lovely stuff from Ashwin this morning as India pass 300. England strangely subdued. This Test is in danger slipping away from them.
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) November 28, 2016
92nd over: India 292-6 (Ashwin 64, Jadeja 45) Jadeja has added precisely one run to his tally in each of the last four overs, and in the last three Ashwin (who’s faced six deliveries) hasn’t scored at all. The scoring might not be rapid but Botham says England are being “too calm, too nice”, and there’s a vague sense in the air of an opportunity being lost.
91st over: India 291-6 (Ashwin 64, Jadeja 44) A better over from Woakes, and there’s a frisson of excitement as he bowls to Ashwin, who edges into his pads and the ball loops into the air, but there’s nobody around to catch it. Then the last ball gets a slight edge, but it’s a slower delivery and it lands well short of the keeper.
Updated
90th over: India 290-6 (Ashwin 64, Jadeja 43) Jadeja is happy to defend the first five balls of the over, but then he chips the last in the air to midwicket, where Batty I think dives in a valiant but doomed attempt to catch it.
89th over: India 289-6 (Ashwin 64, Jadeja 42) England have most emphatically failed to pressure the batsmen in these early moments of the day. At the end of Woakes’ over Cook and Anderson have a bit of a chinwag, though, and it ends with Anderson heading for his mark.
Woakes bowling poorly, Anderson twiddling thumbs. What's going on? Big first hour?
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) November 28, 2016
Ah, Anderson to bowl. Nice early gift of runs to India, though.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) November 28, 2016
Updated
88th over: India 287-6 (Ashwin 63, Jadeja 41) Still no sign of Anderson, as Moeen continues and Jadeja, looking untroubled by injury, smashes the last ball over mid off for four, to put India into the lead.
87th over: India 282-6 (Ashwin 62, Jadeja 37) Once again, the first ball of Woakes’s over is smashed to the boundary - a handsome drive through cover by Jadeja - and this now overtakes the Pujjara/Kohli 75-run stand as the match’s highest partnership, with 78 and counting.
86th over: India 278-6 (Ashwin 62, Jadeja 33) There’s a new ball in play, it’s early in the day, shadows are still long, and Moeen Ali has the ball in hand. Jadeja adds one run to his tally.
This morning is big. No, actually, it's bigger than that, it's large. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/riGtqJtyu5
— AllOutCricket (@AllOutCricket) November 28, 2016
85th over: India 277-6 (Ashwin 62, Jadeja 32) Jadeja sends the first ball of the day whistling to the boundary. The new ball is only five overs old now, but England have a single slip, plus a man at silly mid on. “3:15 alarm call?! Who sleeps before day three of the third Test, the pivotal point of the whole series?” asks Brian Withington, who admits he is “still slogging through last hour of The Revenant, so forgive macho posturing ...”
Woakes starts with a gentle over of leg stump pies
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) November 28, 2016
Updated
The players are out and Woakes has the ball in his hand. Day three is about to get under way.
@Simon_Burnton I read last evening that Ashwin was hobbling. What exactly is the injury and how serious is it? Would he be able to bowl?
— Energumen (@hubli) November 28, 2016
I haven’t seen any kind of explanation for it. Pujara, who spoke to the media at the close of play yesterday, certainly didn’t mention it, and you imagine he would have had it been a significant issue. This, for the record, is what he said about today:
We have an advantage, because both our all-rounders are in. Tomorrow the first session will be crucial for us ... we’ll be looking to get a lead of somewhere around 75 to 100 runs. They can both bat, and so can Jayant Yadav. Our lower order has been contributing in all the Test matches, so we expect that to continue tomorrow.
Morning/afternoon/evening/whatever world!
So day three begins with the score really quite delicately and also fairly surprisingly poised, at least for now. Ashwin and Jadeja have already put on 67 runs for the seventh wicket, and should they keep going much longer the 12-run advantage which England currently cling to will very rapidly become but a merry memory. Another clatter of three wickets for eight runs in 10 minutes, as England mustered after tea yesterday, or anything like it, and the game will remain on its knife-edge for a little while yet. Which, of course, is where we all want it to be. Happily, particularly if you’ve had to set your alarm for 3.15am and motivate yourself to fully gain consciousness (still a long-term aim, really, I’m taking nothing for granted), the next few hours look key. So welcome, let’s share them together.
Simon will be here shortly. Meanwhile, read Ali Martin’s piece on Ben Stokes:
Ben Stokes has long had a reputation for being able to “make something happen” but on the second day in Mohali, when still smarting from the official reprimand that followed an industrial exchange with Virat Kohli 24 hours earlier, this often combustible all-rounder for once made damn sure it did not.
Stokes has become a lightning rod for flashpoints during his career but after the key wicket of Kohli in the evening session – the Indian captain caught behind on 62 and the dismissal continuing what was something of a post-tea resurrection from England – he instead opted to exert some control, simply turning away from the departing batsman and placing his hand over his mouth.
While it may have still been playing up to the cameras a touch, his response could easily have gone another way. Stokes has been privately seething since the first day when, upon being stumped for 29 in the afternoon, he heard what he believed to be a crude sendoff from the India captain. His response then was to convey some choice words back, only to find himself, but not Kohli, in front of the match referee after stumps.
