India did make a good comeback after being bundled out for just 78 in the first innings, but it was never going to be enough.
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England registered a comfortable victory against India in the third of the five-match Test series that is being played between the two countries. With the win, the three lions have levelled up the series 1-1. It was an important victory from the English perspective as the home fans revelled under the sun in Leeds, on the back of a brilliant performance by their side. India lost the match by an innings and 76 runs, which indicates how comprehensive the defeat was. They did make a good comeback after being bundled out for just 78 in the first innings, but it was never going to be enough against such a well-drilled English side. Virat Kohli will have a lot of thinking to do ahead of the fourth Test. For Joe Root, however, a lot of the pressure will be relieved. He will now be confident of winning the series.
India had done quite well to hold on on Day 3 when they frustrated the English bowlers. The score at the time was 215-2 with Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in the middle. The two men who did get out on that day were KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Rahul had an utterly disappointing day as he could only contribute 8 runs. Rohit played quite well as he made a half-century. He was eventually dismissed on 59. Pujara did a fantastic job with the bat as he scored a brilliant 91 and was well supported by Kohli.
The turning point was the loss of those two wickets early on the fourth day. Pujara was dismissed on 91 and Kohli followed shortly after with a score of 55. The skipper might have reached his half-century but fans would have expected him to stick around for a lot longer. After those two departures, no one got going. England picked the remaining seven wickets within just 54 minutes. Ravindra Jadeja was the only one who made a good contribution to the score with 30 runs.
The English bowlers have been outstanding throughout the Test match. In the second Indian innings, Ollie Robinson was on absolute fire as he picked a magnificent five-wicket haul, which included the likes of Rohit, Pujara, and Kohli. Craig Overton also had a brilliant performance as he picked three wickets. Two of those came in the final over of the game. James Anderson and Moeen Ali picked one wicket each. What will be a matter of concern for India is the nature of the dismissals. Almost every single wicket was a case of the batter nicking the ball either to the keeper or to slip.
There will be questions raised over Rishabh Pant’s batting. He has not played well in any of the three Test matches and was dismissed in a rather immature manner. The selectors might be pondering over changing the team dynamic. There could be four bowlers and six batters for the fourth Test with Pant as the keeper. The young keeper could be axed for a pure batter as well since KL Rahul can play as a keeper as well. Rahane will also be a matter of concern after his disappointing performance in the match.
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