ENG vs IND | 3rd Test, Day 1: Disciplined Burns-Hameed, hurting Anderson demolish India's hubris

One could wonder which side of the beds both the England skipper Joe Root and the Indian skipper Virat Kohli would have woke up by the complete turnaround in fortunes of them and their side on the first day of the Third Test in Leeds.

Whatever that could have gone wrong for the tourists did go horribly wrong while the hosts make merry on the back of a pumped-up bowling attack. 

India were down to nothing in the first session itself with the big four wickets back to the pavilion and any chance of resurgence as this Kohli-led side have been known for in the recent past, was thwarted by despicable shot selection by batsmen.

England’s bowlers have been there and thereabouts so far in the series and it was their batting that was failing them for so long. However, on a day when nothing could have gone wrong for them, a rejuvenated opening pair of Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed put them in a commanding position from where they can dictate the flow and the terms of the game.

Anderson’s box of tricks, India’s indiscipline

James Anderson is a champion bowler, who has shoulder the burden of winning England uncountable number of games on home soil. He always was a genuine swing bowler but the advent of wobble seam deliveries have made him ever so lethal in the series.

He has been masterful with the length whenever he has used the wobble seam ball and it was all on display in the first spell of bowling that produced a remarkable figure of 8-5-6-3. He started with a genuine outswinger to Rohit Sharma and followed it up with three in swingers to KL Rahul in order to lure him to playing at deliveries outside off stump. 

Rahul has been watchful across all the innings in the series and Anderson came determined to create doubts in Rahul’s mind. The first three balls bowled at him came towards him with some degree of movement in the air. Those deliveries were pitched at good length areas and allowed the right-hander to leave on the bounce. The pacer was not worried through and he adjusted to a fuller delivery around off stump that shaped to come into him significant that drew Rahul into driving and England were ecstatic to see the back of the batsman who has become a thorn in their flesh so far. 

Cheteshwar Pujara’s cluttered mind did not help him one bit and Anderson employed the same tactic he used against him in the first innings at Lord’s. The ball was angled in from wide of the crease and Pujara’s indecisiveness lured him into poking at one he could afford to leave at the last moment.

With both Rahul and Pujara went even before Rohit could set his eyes in, the onus was on Kohli to lead from the front. He has been found out in the series around the off stump line in what analysts have termed “opening up of 2014 problems”. 

Anderson teased him with outswingers at the fourth or fifth stump line and the skipper showed early confidence by leaving them all alone. Anderson could not have been more precise in the morning session and he brought his line of attack back closer to off stump with each passing ball. 

Kohli was watchful to not have a drive against him until a full-pitched ball that straightened came on his fourth stump and he let a booming drive coming out of his blade. The edge went safely into Jos Buttler’s gloves, who were in with a fantasy ride behind the wicket in the next few hours of the day.

Burns, Hameed’s dream run against off-colour pacers

When things start to go downhill, it goes off pretty quickly and India must have got through the same embarrassment as their counterparts went through on the final day of the Lord’s Test. They were coming into the final day with a lot to do for competing against the hosts but they turned out to be winner in the end.

The story changed quickly as India were wiped out for a mere 78 after heist at Lord’s and any chance of their revival in the game by thwarted by the new opening pair of Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed. 

Remember, it was the failure of the English top order that had put enormous pressure on Joe Root and ultimately his failure had cost hosts the last game.

The script had changed completely as it was the turn of Indian bowlers to have a complete off the day with the ball, and they could not have picked the worst day for not turning up at their best.

Indian pacers hardly challenged the openers around their off stump as their English counterparts had done to their teammates early on in the day. They made sure to capitalize on getting the opportunity to get their eyes on with a lot of deliveries they could leave outside off. 

They stitched an unbeaten partnership of more than 100 runs—England’s first 100-run partnership in the 24th innings to completely deflate India on the very first day of the third Test.

Looking forward to the second day

England have already taken a lead of 42 runs and have all their 10 wickets intact going into the second day. The delight on the faces of Root and coach Chris Silverwood and the reception they gave to the unbeaten openers emphasized the desperation of a good start to the Test match the hosts needed after a demoralising defeat at Lord’s.

They would be looking forward to keeping India in the field for a long time, at least for the whole of the second day. If they will be able to do so, they might earn eh luxury of not needing to bat again.

India, on the other hand, will have to accept that they were below par in every moment of the game on the first day. They would be looking forward to starting afresh and challenging the England batsmen from the scratch. 

India could also ponder not throwing everything they have in their body and may well play a hiding game. However, those tactics seem to be an impossible scenario for the Kohli-led side and four days is a lot of time to play the hiding game.

If India won’t be able to get England all out around the 200 or 250-run mark, they would be all but out of the game and Kohli- Ravi Shastri duo needs to draw a tactical line of what their objectives will be for the second day.