3rd Test, Leeds, Aug 25 - 28 2021, India tour of England

Scorecard & Highlights

Day 1

Almost as if to make up for their horror final day at Lord's, England had the first day of their fantasies at Headingley. James Anderson cast a swing-bowling spell over the top order, reducing India to 21 for 3 in the 11th over, to immediately send the opposition into defence mode. Although Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane threatened, briefly, to rebuild, the supporting England seamers then came in and wiped out the last seven India wickets for 22 runs, to have them 78 all out - the third-lowest total India have ever made after choosing to bat first.

When England bowled, conditions seemed exceedingly seamer-friendly, the pitch and the atmosphere allowing the ball to move just enough and late enough to get new batters nicking, rather than missing. But then when India's quicks had the ball, the surface appeared half-decent - even good - to bat on. Rohit - India's top-scorer - batted out 105 balls for his 19; Haseeb Hameed needed only 43 deliveries to get to the same score. Hameed later progressed to a half-century off his 110th delivery, before finishing on 60 not out. Rory Burns made an unbeaten 52. England finished the day with the match firmly in their grip. They had ten first-innings wickets still in hand, and were 42 runs ahead.

Although Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Sam Curran, and the two England openers, imposed themselves at various points in the day, it was the maestro, Anderson, who set the tone. A dusting of grey hairs at his temple, and yet evermore skilful, he laid traps for KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara, which both batters could not resist. He bowled a string of inswingers at Rahul, all slightly short of a length, to get the batter playing back slightly, defending balls in front of his stumps. Then he snuck in a full delivery outside off, which seamed slightly away off the seam, to take Rahul's edge as he reached for it. A similar ploy worked for Pujara too. Although Pujara's was a poke rather than a big drive, the dismissal - edging an awayseamer to the wicketkeeper - was the same.

For Kohli, Anderson plugged away in the channel, and then delivered a wobble-seam ball that pitched just outside off and moved away - Kohli venturing a big drive only to also be caught by Jos Buttler. He was out for 7 off 17, leaving India reeling while Rohit was attempting his best cave hermit impression - leaving, blocking, and dead-batting.

Rohit and Rahane then threatened to right India's innings, batting out 15 overs together and putting on 35, but Rahane edging Robinson behind on the penultimate ball before lunch ended what turned out to be India's best partnership by far.

After lunch, India careened into a chasm. Pant was out to Robinson - again nicking behind (this was Buttler's fifth catch out of five). A few overs later, Rohit's patience ran out and he tried to pull a short ball from Overton over the leg side, but managed only to bunt it to a catching mid-on. Next ball, Mohammed Shami was squared up, and he sent a catch to third slip.

The following over, bowled by Curran, brought another double strike - Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah both out lbw, both pretty plumb. India lost four wickets while the score was 67, and were all out soon after, having slipped from 56 for 3.

Perhaps India felt their bowlers would be able to replicate England's success in such conditions, particularly after their heroics on the final day at Lord's, but they began with far less discipline than the England attack had shown. Ishant Sharma, who opened the bowling ahead of Mohammed Siraj and Shami, was especially wayward, frequently straying into the batters' pads, and rarely finding movement on a line outside off stump. Bumrah was much better, and even drew an edge at one point that fell short, but was not especially menacing either.

Hameed and Burns did not have to be particularly patient through the early overs, getting frequent enough deliveries that could be scored off, but were nevertheless solid when the good balls came as well. They were not beaten as often as India's batters were with the new ball. And they were more confident with their scoring strokes. Hameed was particularly severe on errors of line, dusting off an excellent cut shot repeatedly.

Later, Burns hit the most memorable shot, however, thumping Siraj over deep square leg for the day's only six. Hameed got to his half-century with an edge through the outstretched hand of Rohit at second slip - the fielder getting some flesh to the tough chance, but unable to hold on. Burns, got to the milestone in the penultimate over of the day, punching the 123rd ball he faced through mid-on.

Such was England's dominance on day one, India will probably need a dramatic session or several to get themselves back into the match.

Day 2

England just made too much ground in that middle session. Joe Root hit his third hundred of the series and sixth of the year. Dawid Malan struck a fifty. England went to tea 220 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand, and though they ended the day eight down, they scored briskly through session three as well, finishing 345 runs in front. India needed a dramatic collapse to force themselves back into the match on day two, and did their best to set one in motion during an attritional first session. But they were eventually foiled by Root in the form of his already exceptional cricketing life.

Once Root got going after lunch, India's strategy of bowling tightly and keeping the runs down - which had been somewhat successful in a morning session in which they removed the overnight batters - was essentially torn apart. It's not that Root's innings was necessarily a counterattack - he just went into ODI mode and found ways to score off even good balls, frequently deflecting balls in the arc between point and third man in particular. He was on 27 off his first 25 balls, 41 off 50, and reached triple figures off the 123rd ball he faced.

Growing in confidence as he batted in Root's slipstream, Malan grew in confidence as he hit 70 off 128 balls in his comeback Test innings. The pair's 139-run partnership was the best of the innings, just pipping Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns' opening stand, which was worth 135. Root also shared a 52-run association with Jonny Bairstow, and it is between these three stands that much of England's batting progress has been made. At stumps, they still had Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson at the crease. Both have been known to contribute handy runs at the county level.

India had a tough day, though perhaps the final session, in which they claimed five wickets, took the worst of the edge off. They are so far behind in the match that chances of victory appear remote. There are still three days left in the game, so a draw seems almost as unlikely. Still, the bowlers will be pleased that they can at least dream of wiping England's last two wickets out early on day three, when for much of Thursday, there was a strong possibility India would be made to bowl for substantial portions of Friday as well.

Mohammed Shami was the best of India's bowlers, nipping one back through the defences of Rory Burns early in the day, before having Bairstow caught at slip, and Jos Buttler out at catching midwicket after tea. Ravindra Jadeja picked up Haseeb Hameed and Moeen Ali. And although he was expensive, Mohammed Siraj took two wickets, while Bumrah claimed one. The severe disappointment in this bowling effort, however, was Ishant Sharma, who struggled for rhythm all day, rarely seemed menacing, and went at 4.18 across his 22 overs. That Kohli bowled him so much was something of a surprise.

But it was Root who really owned the day. He drove with confidence, particularly through mid-on, and through the covers, deflected no fewer than four boundaries through the third man region, and swept Jadeja against the turn without fuss, all the while picking up singles, running hard enough to squeeze out a second if the shot allows. It was a supremely busy, rather than explosive, innings.

He celebrated his 23rd hundred - drawing equal with Kevin Pietersen as the second-best England century-maker - to the adoring roar of his Yorkshire home crowd, and was out - eventually - on 121 off 165 balls, Bumrah getting him to play on. After this innings, Root has 1398 Test runs for the year, which is a monumental 688 runs more than the next-most prolific batter, Rohit Sharma. Incredibly, 875 of those runs have come against India.

Malan played England's next-best innings, scoring 51 of his 70 runs through the offside. He had had a somewhat nervy start, which was perhaps understandable for a batter playing his first Test innings in three years. But once Root got to the crease, and India's effort dipped following a tight first session, Malan was happier to free his arms, and join Root in his brisk accumulation through the middle session. Together, the batters consolidated the gains made by Hameed and Burns, and ensured that England's grip on the Test became even tighter.

Earlier in the day, India's bowlers had bowled a largely immaculate line-and-length to concede just 62 runs in the first session. They tied both Burns and Hameed down before dismissing them, and perhaps went to lunch feeling they were on the brink of breaking through the middle order as well. Root was always going to be the big wicket. He is in such form that his ruining of India's plan seemed effortless.

Day 3

On day three, Headingley was the scene of a fightback. From India in general, whose openers battled through the early overs, resisted James Anderson, and whose top order lost only the wicket of KL Rahul in the first 47 overs they faced. From Cheteshwar Pujara in particular, who overcame a streak of 12 innings in which he did not pass 50 once, to finish the day as his team's top-scorer, nine runs short of what would be his first century since January 2019.

They still have a mountain to summit if they are to put any real pressure on England. They remain 139 runs in arrears at stumps, and crucially, will have to face the second new ball the moment play starts on day four. But at times on day three, their top order appeared comfortable on a surface that was not offering much in the way of seam movement, even if swing in the air was gleaned with the new ball. You suspect they would have to bat for most of day four - if not part way into day five, to really make England worried. But with the score at 215 for 2, their resistance has a start. Virat Kohli was largely untroubled during his unbeaten 45 as well.

England will feel that perhaps their quicks were not menacing enough for long periods. Anderson did not glean the movement he had on day one, and occasionally strayed too far to leg as he went looking for big swing. They also only got nine overs out of Sam Curran, who was wayward and expensive, going at 4.44 an over.

Craig Overton made the first breakthrough, when he had Rahul caught brilliantly at second slip by a diving Jonny Bairstow off the last ball of the first session, but it was Ollie Robinson who was England's best, frequently nibbling balls back into the India batter's pads. Rahul was given out in Robinson's fifth over, but managed to overturn that decision on review (the ball was just sliding down leg). In his tenth over, another close shout against Rohit Sharma was (correctly) turned down. He'd eventually get Rohit lbw for 59, but was in good rhythm right through the day, conceding only 40 from his 18 overs.

But it was Pujara, whose place in the team was under serious scrutiny, that produced Friday's definitive performance. Having arrived at the crease without a fifty since February, and a century in over two-and-a-half years, he was done a favour by the England seamers, who kept straying too far down leg - balls Pujara, even in this form - whipped emphatically to the legside boundary. After his first 13 balls, Pujara had three boundaries and 14 runs to his name, and appeared somewhat at ease. Suddenly, he was leaving judiciously, defending resolutely, while waiting for the loose deliveries, which he gleefully punished. Of his first 32 runs, 28 came from boundaries. Only two of those seven boundaries came on the off side.

Rohit, meanwhile, was himself defending and leaving happily, as the pair batted out a wicketless second session. He didn't get as many loose legside deliveries as Pujara, but when he got balls he could hit, he wasn't shy about hitting out. Late in the first session, a slightly wide bouncer from Robinson disappeared over the third man boundary, having been uppercut - India's only six so far in the match. He was outscored by Pujara in the course of their 82-run stand, but he got to his half-century off the 125th ball he faced. He'd seemed the most comfortable of all India's batters in the first two sessions, but nevertheless, could not push on much further after the tea break. He reviewed the lbw decision, having missed a slightly angled ball from Robinson, but ball tracker showed it to be shaving leg stump.

Kohli, himself struggling for form, won his first battle with Anderson - who had got him in the first innings - when he clipped him through backward square, and smoked him through extra cover three balls later, early in his innings. At no stage did he really look to impose himself, though. Taking cues from Rohit and Pujara, perhaps, he worked the singles and twos, and largely waited for the wayward balls - Curran providing more than his share of them - to register boundaries.

As the skies had been gloomy right through the day, floodlights had been on since the middle session, and when the umpires told Joe Root only slow bowlers could operate after the end of the 69th over, Root brought himself into the attack. Root's intention, perhaps, was to rush a few overs and get England to that 80 over mark, when the second new ball would be available, and they could take it at the top of day four, their seamer's having had their night's rest. The umpires allowed Root and Moeen to bowl until the 80th over, but these were largely bloodless overs; India's batters were happy to keep gradually adding to their scores.

The new-ball showdown awaits first thing on Saturday.

Day 4

It promised to be a high-stakes morning. On one side, India's two most experienced batters, out of form on this series, but who had rediscovered a little of their resilience on day three. That they had blue skies to bat beneath will have put them more at ease, also. On the other, James Anderson and co. running in with a bright red Dukes, on a Headingley surface that never really dies.

It was supposed to be a big showdown, but for India, it turned out to be a shambles. They lost their last eight wickets for 63 runs; their last seven for 41. And they didn't last till lunch, going down by an innings and 76. Ollie Robinson, England's best bowler in the second innings, claimed 5 for 65 - a second career five-for in just his fourth Test. Craig Overton took two wickets to wipe out the tail and seal the match. Moeen Ali produced a big-spinning beauty to get a wicket of his own, and Anderson was unlucky to wind up with just one dismissal to his name - he'd been all over Virat Kohli in his first spell.

It didn't take long for England to strike. Midway through the fourth over of the day, Pujara - who had largely left judiciously until then - shouldered arms to a Robinson inswinger that struck him low on the pad, just outside off, and which would have gone on to cannon into off stump. England had to use a review to get that decision. Pujara had begun the day nine runs short of what would have been his first Test hundred since January 2019, but did not add to his score.

Kohli battled on at the other end, surviving an especially tense Anderson over in which he was required to overturn a caught behind decision, via DRS. Having begun the morning on 45, India's captain got to fifty in the next over, whipping Robinson through midwicket, then smoking him down the ground, before he edged the last ball of that over to first slip, having prodded at a ball that left him slightly. He was out for 55.

Then, the wickets came like a flash flood. Anderson had Ajinkya Rahane nicking off, the ball again seaming away a touch as the batter hung his bat out. Rishabh Pant tried a couple of advancing hoicks, but was caught defending. Mohammed Shami was bowled when a Moeen offbreak ripped from way outside off stump, and through the gate. Robinson then had a leaden-footed Ishant Sharma edge through to the keeper, Ravindra Jadeja had some fun thumping a few boundaries but eventually he succumbed to Overton. On day four, there was little of the resolve that had defined India's day three performance.

India now have four days off before the fourth Test, which in theory, should be played in conditions more to their liking, at The Oval. Following the high of Lord's though, this Test at Headingley, which has now featured two plunging collapses, is almost certain to have deflated them.