If you’re an Indian supporter, yesterday was a day to be proud of. It’s not often that the team produces a dominating batting day outside Asia, more so in England, and that too in the second innings after having conceded a significant first-innings lead. It might have come on arguably the best batting surface in England when the conditions were at their best to bat on, but take nothing away from the visitors. They were tremendous. England will rue their catching – there weren’t a lot of chances on offer and that’s what makes their misses all the more haunting. Rory Burns won’t be a man in peace at the moment. He gifted Rohit a couple of lives and the opener made England pay heavily with a superb knock. Rohit and Pujara produced a masterclass on how to balance attack and defense, helped of course by some loose bowling from hosts, particularly in the middle session.
Day 4’s Pitch Report :
“Weather looks fairly good today. It was expected to be cold and overcast, but it’s bright at the moment. There will be a swing but how much is the question. The surface has now turned into an absolute belting track for batting. We saw that yesterday too. The grass has more or less died out and the heavy roller will only make it, even more, flatter.” reckons Dominic Cork.
Kohli silences Anderson with a flashy drive
Virat Kohli’s cover drive to Anderson in the 100th over had such audacity and swagger in it. Anderson looked defeated as he walked back to his run-up.It was full and wide delivery, Kohli would usually look to time the cover drive on England tracks but he trusts this surface now and goes for a booming stroke on the up. Nobody moved, except mid-off who has to retrieve the ball
And now it’s Robinson’s time! Kohli had decided that anything overpitched had simply gotta go. It was a half-volley, he just leaned into it and drilled straight back past the bowler. Like with the previous cover drive he played, there was a lot of swagger in this shot too, that followthrough having a bit of nonchalance in it.
Woakes strikes twice
Not the first time that Woakes has broken a threatening partnership in this game! Makes you wonder why he didn’t start off from one end, given where the match was poised overnight. It was a lovely nip-backer, pitched around off and lured Jadeja forward but he didn’t cover for the inward movement as much. Struck just below the knee roll and it looked out in the latest. Easy call for the ump. Jadeja reviews it to test out his luck but HawkEye sends him packing with Three Reds. Some respite for the hosts because it was just seeming like India was getting away from them.
And then just one over later, Woakes dismissed Rahane on a duck. Out of nowhere, he brought England right back into this game.
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