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England Test Series

Michael Vaughan- The New Indian Express

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By PTI

LONDON: Battle-hardened India exposed shortcomings of England in all departments with their famous win in the fourth Test, reckons former skipper Michael Vaughan.

India were on the backfoot initially but conjured up a comprehensive 157-run win at the Oval on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Vaughan found faults in every department of the game.

“The deficiencies of England’s Test team were laid bare this week in batting, bowling and fielding. They were beaten by battle-hardened opponents who know how to win the key moments,” Vaughan wrote in his column for ‘The Telegraph’.

“It started with their catching on day one, continued through their batting in the first innings before their bowling was exposed on a flat wicket over the weekend.

“I would like to know why in the last couple of years this fielding team has not improved. They continue to drop chances and should have bowled India out for 125 in the first innings,” he said.

Vaughan said England did not make enough runs in their first innings and also questioned the shot selection of the batsmen.

“England played some poor strokes through lapses in concentration. Haseeb Hameed chased a wide ball, for example, and Moeen Ali top-edged one in the air when England were strolling the game. Those were poor cricket shots.

“England lack pace and variation to make things happen in flat conditions. This England Test team are dependent on the pitch helping them. When that happens they look like taking 20 wickets like they did at Headingley, otherwise they struggle.”

Vaughan also found “lack of intent” among England batsmen.

“The run out of Dawid Malan was a prime example. If you are busy from ball one you are alert to singles but Malan was on his heels because he was not expecting that call from Hameed. That is a lack of intent. It was an insight into England’s mindset. They were just batting.”

The former captain also did not like the way England chose their combination for the Oval Test.

“Not that long ago England were saying they always wanted one pace bowler in the team. Why did they not go back to Mark Wood for this game? Not for the first time, they selected the team that did well the week before in different conditions. The mindset needs to change. They have to be smarter.

“England have to work out how to become battle-hardened when the pressure is on. I always question some of their thinking. Why did they appoint Moeen as vice-captain? “He has barely been in the side for two years.

It would have been a nice little boost for (Rory) Burns, who is a regular in the side, to be made vice-captain this week on his home ground.

“It was a decision that puzzled me and perhaps put more pressure on Moeen who is still making his way back in the game.”

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Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC ayer of the Month’ ​award after exploits against England- The New Indian Express

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By PTI

DUBAI: India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was on Monday nominated for the ICC ‘Player of the Month’ award for August following his brilliant performances with both the bat and ball in the ongoing Test series against England.

Besides Bumrah, the others in the men’s category included England Test skipper Joe Root and Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi, the ICC announced.

The nominees among the women were Thailand’s Nattaya Boochatham, and the Ireland duo of Gaby Lewis and Eimear Richardson.

Bumrah, who has been exceptional with his fast bowling against England, took nine wickets in the first Test. He received just as many plaudits for his role with the bat in the second Test at Lord’s, when he contributed to an 89-run ninth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Shami that proved pivotal to India’s win.

England went on to level the series in the third Test, mostly thanks to captain Root, who has plundered runs at will.

He scored centuries in each of the three Tests against India in August, a purple patch that led him to the top of the Test batting rankings.

On the other hand, Afridi, in two Tests against West Indies in August, promised wickets every time he was thrown the ball.

He ended the series with 18 wickets, taking 10 wickets in the second Test and helped Pakistan secure a series-levelling 109-run victory.

In taking 10 wickets in the Test, Afridi became the fourth-youngest paceman from Pakistan to achieve the feat, after Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mohammad Zahid.

In women’s cricket, Boochatham made contributions with both bat and ball in the series against Zimbabwe, which propelled her to career-best positions across the women’s T20I player rankings for batters, bowlers, and all-rounders.

Her performances helped Thailand win their three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe 2-1.

While the Irish duo of Lewis and Richardson played a big part in Ireland’s three wins out of four in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in August.

Lewis became the first Ireland player to score a century in women’s T20Is, during their 164-run win over Germany, in the opening game of the tournament.

Her knock featured 11 fours and three sixes, and her 105 came off just 60 balls.

Richardson, meanwhile, was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in Europe Qualifiers, thanks to her contributions with both bat and ball.

She finished the tournament with seven wickets at an economy rate of 4.19, and aggregated 76 runs with the bat.

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Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC Player of the Month’ ​award after exploits against England- The New Indian Express

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By PTI

DUBAI: India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was on Monday nominated for the ICC ‘Player of the Month’ award for August following his brilliant performances with both the bat and ball in the ongoing Test series against England.

Besides Bumrah, the others in the men’s category included England Test skipper Joe Root and Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi, the ICC announced.

The nominees among the women were Thailand’s Nattaya Boochatham, and the Ireland duo of Gaby Lewis and Eimear Richardson.

Bumrah, who has been exceptional with his fast bowling against England, took nine wickets in the first Test. He received just as many plaudits for his role with the bat in the second Test at Lord’s, when he contributed to an 89-run ninth-wicket partnership with Mohammad Shami that proved pivotal to India’s win.

England went on to level the series in the third Test, mostly thanks to captain Root, who has plundered runs at will.

He scored centuries in each of the three Tests against India in August, a purple patch that led him to the top of the Test batting rankings.

On the other hand, Afridi, in two Tests against West Indies in August, promised wickets every time he was thrown the ball.

He ended the series with 18 wickets, taking 10 wickets in the second Test and helped Pakistan secure a series-levelling 109-run victory.

In taking 10 wickets in the Test, Afridi became the fourth-youngest paceman from Pakistan to achieve the feat, after Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mohammad Zahid.

In women’s cricket, Boochatham made contributions with both bat and ball in the series against Zimbabwe, which propelled her to career-best positions across the women’s T20I player rankings for batters, bowlers, and all-rounders.

Her performances helped Thailand win their three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe 2-1.

While the Irish duo of Lewis and Richardson played a big part in Ireland’s three wins out of four in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in August.

Lewis became the first Ireland player to score a century in women’s T20Is, during their 164-run win over Germany, in the opening game of the tournament.

Her knock featured 11 fours and three sixes, and her 105 came off just 60 balls.

Richardson, meanwhile, was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in Europe Qualifiers, thanks to her contributions with both bat and ball.

She finished the tournament with seven wickets at an economy rate of 4.19, and aggregated 76 runs with the bat.

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India finish day three strong on 270/3, lead England by 171 runs- The New Indian Express

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By PTI

LONDON: Rohit Sharma scored a gritty 127 while Cheteshwar Pujara contributed an useful 61 in India’s commendable second innings score of 270 for 3 against England at stumps on the third day of the fourth Test.

India now have a lead of 171 runs with two days of play left and skipper Virat Kohli (22 batting) at the crease with Ravindra Jadeja (9 batting).

For England, Ollie Robinson picked two wickets while James Anderson got the other wicket.

Brief Scores: India 191 and 270/3 (Rohit Sharma 127, Cheteshwar Pujara 61, KL Rahul 46, Ollie Robinson 2/67, James Anderson 1/49). England 1st Innings 290.

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Pressure release allows England to nudge ahead- The New Indian Express

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Express News Service

CHENNAI: In an era where conditions are loaded in favour of bowlers in Tests, India’s recent trend has been to go for fresh legs in long series. Ever since landing in Australia, where they were compelled to an extent, it has become a non-negotiable element in their gameplan across formats. The increase in their pool of pacers gives them the luxury to rotate, irrespective of the opposition and the conditions. In this short period, it has worked in their favour. It enables them to not only take care of the workload of their strike-bowlers but also allows them to go hard at the opposition at all times.

Day 2 at the Oval was one such day — which saw England take a 99-run lead and India finishing at 43-0. Not many runs to bowl with after they were bundled out for 191 on an opening day, India needed their pacers to rescue them again by going for the kill. Even though Joe Root was already back in the hut on Thursday, it was always going to be easier said than done. The use of the heavy roller by England before they came out to bat on Day 1 would have suppressed the live grass, and Day 2 and 3 are traditionally the best days to bat on these surfaces. As captain, you ought to be judicious with the choice of bowlers on days like this, especially when you have two pacers who have already bowled more than 100 overs this series in Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav, brought into the XI for the Test, are the ones India were banking on to not just get wickets but also stem the flow of runs and bowl those long spells. The pitch, having eased out, wasn’t one where wickets were going to come in a cluster. It was the sort of surface that the Indians get back home when they don’t opt for raging turners. Dot balls after dot balls fetch wickets.

Two bowlers in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma, who help them a great deal in that regard, are not playing this Test. One because of balance and the other because of rotation. Not to mention the absence of Mohammed Shami, who can transition between attack and defence seamlessly on such tracks.

That India started Day 2 with Siraj when a nightwatchman was in and moved to Bumrah once Craig Overton was dismissed showed where they stood. Once they had the opening, they attacked with Bumrah and Umesh, with the latter removing Dawid Malan as England were reduced to 62-5 inside the first hour. And it is from here on that the plot began to unravel in the manner that India didn’t like. With not much swing on offer to aid Shardul Thakur, Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow launched a counter-attack that saw England score 61 runs in the hour before lunch. At 139/5, the tide was beginning to change.

“The plan was to bowl maidens and build pressure. We wanted to be patient and not go after wickets. We did it for a while, but in that phase we gave away some quick runs and it opened up the game. From there on they scored a some more. Part and parcel of the game. Some times it works, some day’s we couldn’t execute,” said Umesh Yadav.

Those quick runs meant India had already exhausted Umesh and Bumrah, who had finished their second spells before lunch. This meant in the second session, needing quick wickets, India began with Siraj, who — playing his fourth successive Test in this series — was now beginning to clock only 130kmph with an old ball. With no assistance on offer, Ravindra Jadeja was called to dry up one end, but dot balls were beginning to be elusive. In the overs India attacked with Bumrah, England were content to play him out as Pope scored a fluent 81 with Bairstow and Moeen Ali doing their job with 37 and 35. And once England took the lead with the old ball, it only got better and better for the hosts as Chris Woakes’ 50 gave them a 99-run lead.

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Shardul Thaku- The New Indian Express

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By PTI

LONDON: Shardul Thakur, who on Thursday pipped Ian Botham’s record by hitting the fastest Test fifty on English soil, feels that when one is entrusted with responsibility, he has to “perform by hook or crook”.

Shardul hit his second Test half-century off 31 balls and beat Ian Botham’s 35-year-old record as he helped India’s total attain a semblance of respectability.

“You have to take responsibility whether you are a pacer or a batter. If you are playing for India, so whenever you get a chance you have to shoulder responsibility by hook or by crook,” Shardul said after day’s play when asked if the assignment of scoring runs every time adds to the pressure.

“For me, it was a challenge and whenever I get to bat, I have to create such an impact that it opens the door for my team’s victory,” the Mumbai all-rounder said having already hit a fifty in India’s victory in Brisbane earlier this year.

In the Indian dressing room, he is referred to as ‘Beefy’ which is legendary Ian Botham’s famous nickname.

“Pretty happy getting so much love from teammates that they want to call me by a certain nickname,” he smiled.

He clarified that Ravindra Jadeja was sent up the order to keep the left-right combination going.

“Whether Rishabh goes or Jaddu goes, it doesn’t really matter. We have seen Jadeja score crucial runs and bat patiently. It was just to use left right combo, we send him up the order,” said Shardul.

The advice given to him by coaches was to play as straight as possible and he tried doing that.

ALSO READ | Shardul Thakur,Virat Kohli fifties take India to 191, England lose early wickets

“The more you play with straight bat in English conditions, more runs you will get. The ball swings excessively so its better to play straight. My coaches tell me to play with straight bat and score as much as possible with the tail.”

The pull shot to get his fifty was according to him his “favourite” of the three sixes and it helped that the ball swung less with no overhead clouds at the time when he batted.

The target is to restrict England to a low first innings score and take the game from thereon.

“If you look, our total (191) is not very high. We have an amazing opportunity to restrict them to low total and game will be neck and neck,” he said.

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Shardul Thakur,Virat Kohli fifties take India to 191, England lose early wickets- The New Indian Express

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By PTI

LONDON: Shardul Thakur’s counter-attacking half-century wasn’t good enough to save the Indian batting from another embarrassment before Jasprit Bumrah’s menacing opening spell kept the visitors on an even keel against England on the opening day of the fourth Test.

At stumps, England were 53 for 3 in response to India’s 191, having lost openers Rory Burns (5) and Haseeb Hameed (0) to the extra pace and bounce generated by Bumrah (6-2-15-2).

Umesh Yadav (6-1-15-1) then bowled an off-cutter in his second spell to breach in-form Joe Root (21)’s defence which helped the visitors end the day on a high note.

That Indian shoulders didn’t droop after being reduced to 127 for 7 was all because of a man playing only his fourth Test.

Justifying his tag as a bowling all-rounder, Shardul smashed 57 off 36 balls and added 63 for the eighth wicket with Umesh to take the total closer to 200 which had looked improbable after another “brain fade” dismissal from Rishabh Pant.

India lasted just 61.3 overs with Cheteshwar Pujara (10) and especially Ajinkya Rahane’s (14) failures becoming glaring enough and couldn’t be papered over by skipper Virat Kohli (50 off 96 balls), who played some gorgeous strokes en route his half-century.

Save couple of half-centuries, none of the Indian batters crossed the 20-run mark.

For England, Chris Woakes (15-6-55-4) was splendid in his comeback game and no praise would be enough for the fast-rising Ollie Robinson (17.3-9-38-3), who bowled a couple of beauties to get rid of KL Rahul and Kohli.

Anderson bowled one of his classic “in-out” (swinging in and shaping out) delivery to send Pujara back and Rahane was Overton’s victim with Moeen Ali not even required to bowl a single over.

With Ravichandran Ashwin being sidelined for the fourth time, the logic of playing Ravindra Jadeja as a batting all-rounder has partially backfired after team management promoted him to No 5 ahead of Rahane and the move flopped big time.

For Rahane, the time is simply running out after yet another failure and the fact that he needed to be hid behind Jadeja under the pretence of having a left-right combination, said it all.

As far as Pujara is concerned, an expert of Sunil Gavaskar’s stature has pointed out that his dismissals are a result of technical problems with hands moving towards the ball with minimal feet movement.

Anderson got one to nip back in the air as the batsman shaped to play an inswinger and by the time it landed it moved a shade away to take Pujara’s outside edge.

The balance was all awry and result was a simple catch to Bairstow behind the stumps.

The skipper was the only one among the three middle-order big guns who looked like batting with some purpose.

There were flowing cover drives, a picturesque on-drive but when Robinson came back for his post-lunch spell and bowled one on the length which climbed as well as moved inward forcing Kohli to close the bat face for a shot towards mid-wicket.

But all it did was to clip the outside edge into Bairstow’s gloves.

If promoting Jadeja was a poor call from captain, it’s about time that his young turk Pant (9) gets a rap on the knuckles for his distinct lack of game awareness which has been visible throughout this English summer.

Just when the situation needed some discretion from him, he was regularly charging out without much results and the wily Woakes got his number with a slower delivery, keeping the mid-off back.

It was then left to Shardul, who just trusted the bounce and hit through the line just when the pitch got a bit better.

A six over long-off, one over deep mid-wicket and best — a pull-shoot off Robinson to bring up his second half-century had the crowd in raptures.

It added some muscle to India’s score but not enough for the bowlers to go out with a free mind.

When India bowled, Bumrah bowled one that had extra bounce with inward movement after pitching which Burns dragged back to his stumps.

Hameed got one on the off-stump that climbed on him as he tried to slash it but Pant took a smart catch to make it wicket No 99 for Bumrah.

However after a few loose deliveries, Umesh brought joy back into the India camp with Root’s wicket in the penultimate over.

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Lack of runs from middle-order, seamer-friendly conditions continue to force R Ashwin- The New Indian Express

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Express News Service

It is quite perplexing that of all the Tests that Ravichandran Ashwin hasn’t featured so far on this tour against England, the uproar reached a crescendo at The Oval on Thursday. Part of it has to do with the history of the venue. Of all the venues in England, The Oval is the one ground where visiting teams, especially ones from the sub-continent, feel at home.

It is supposed to be the batting-friendly pitch, where spinners come into play as the match progresses. And with India losing the third Test by a huge margin and Ravindra Ja­d­eja not contributing much wi­th the ball, the calls to incl­u­de Ashwin for the fourth started well before the team left Leeds.

This is why the decision to leave out the off-spinner, with 413 Test wickets to his name, raised eyebrows on Thursday. Time will tell whether it’s a tactical blunder but the team management have gone ahead with four pacers as they expect spinners to have less of a role on a wicket that has a bit of grass cover. It is worth noting that Moeen Ali, the lone spinner in the XI, didn’t even get to bowl in the first innings.

“It depends on the conditions and pitches,” India’s bowling coach, B Arun, said about Ashwin’s omission on the eve of the Test. “Ashwin is one of the best bowlers we have. It is unfortunate he has not played so far. If we feel there is an opportunity and we feel he fits in the scheme of things, definitely they both will be bowling in tandem.”

With England bringing back Chris Woakes to go with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, this was never going to be a dry surface. With the series locked at 1-1 apiece, the hosts were going to keep some grass, especially when there are crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points at stake. And considering England have a gruelling Ashes tour coming up where many of their regulars may miss it given the quarantine rules in Australia, every point counts.  

Like how India preferred turners in the home series earlier this year with a WTC spot up for grabs, England have chosen to maximise their home advantage. India knew this was coming and this is why they have gone against popular perception by benching Ashwin the spinner, in favour of Jadeja, the batsman. This is not about Ashwin, the spinner vs Jadeja, the spinner. The conditions, as it is there to see, is loaded in favour of the seamers, so India’s logic has been why weaken the batting by omitting Jadeja who has made vital runs at Nottingham and Lord’s.

Since January 2020, India’s No 3, 4 & 5 put together an average of 28.29 in 14 Tests, the second-lowest among all Test-playing nations. In India’s defense, they have faced the most challenging situations on offer: New Zeala­nd, Australia and England. Ev­en in the home series against En­gland, pitches suited spinners. So they have had to rely on lower-order for runs.

While doing so, India seem to overlook  Ashwin’s batting, which was once so valuable to the team. He has five Test centuries to show, the last of it coming against Chennai in February and can’t be considered out of depth.

In short, Kohli & Co have made Ashwin the sacrificial lamb for the failure of the others, something most teams won’t even think about, especially given how the quality he brings.
 

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Shardul Thakur scores fighting fifty but England bundle out India for 191- The New Indian Express

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By Associated Press

LONDON: India was bowled out for 191 midway through the third session of the fourth test against England on Thursday, its latest meager total only lifted by an entertaining counterattacking innings by tailender Shardul Thakur.

Thakur scored the fastest test fifty ever made at the Oval — in just 31 balls — and had hit seven fours and three sixes by the time he was trapped lbw for 57 to become the recalled Chris Woakes’ fourth wicket of Day 1.

Jasprit Bumrah was run out next ball, having not even faced a delivery, before Umesh Yadav was caught behind three balls later for 10.

Rishabh Pant was caught in the deep, on the slog, for 9 for the first wicket after tea to leave India 127-7.

Thakur’s half-century at least put India into a competitive position, unlike in the third test when the tourists were dismissed for 78 and ended up losing inside four days at Headingley.

England was justifying its choice to bowl first under an overcast sky.

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Virat Kohli hits 50 but India struggle to 122-6 at tea- The New Indian Express

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By PTI

LONDON: Skipper Virat Kohli couldn’t convert his good start into a much-anticipated three-figure knock as India’s struggles against a high quality England seam and swing attack left them crawling at 122 for six at tea on the opening day of the fourth Test here.

Kohli (50 off 96 balls), who looked a few notches above his other batting colleagues, hit some delectable cover drives but the fast-rising Ollie Robinson (16-9-24-2) got one to rear up as the Indian skipper closed his bat face to provide Jonny Bairstow a regulation catch.

The Joe Root dropped catch at slips off Chris Woakes’ (10-5-19-2) bowling didn’t matter much as Kohli, despite his eight well-timed boundaries, was once again consumed outside the off-stump.

On either side of Kohli’s dismissals during the session was Ravindra Jadeja (10) and Ajinkya Rahane (14)’s ejection from the crease which pretty much summed up another batting debacle.

Jadeja coming out at No.5 to protect an out-of-form Rahane was bizarre and it didn’t take much time for Woakes to get him to nick one into the palms of Root.

For Rahane, the time is simply running out after yet another failure and the fact that he needed to be hid behind Jadeja under the pretence of having a left-right combination, said it all.

Craig Overton (11-2-30-1) ended the Indian vice-captain’s misery with his opposite number Moeen Ali taking a sharp low catch at third slip to increase India’s woes.

Earlier, India’s openers Rohit Sharma (11) and KL Rahul (17), after showing initial promise, were done in by high quality seam bowling, while Cheteshwar Pujara (4) got one from James Anderson that could easily qualify to be the “ball of the series”.

England captain Joe Root called it right at the toss and knowing India’s struggling batting line-up, promptly put them into bat.

Both Rohit and Rahul punished the loose deliveries from Anderson with 28 runs added within first 35-odd minutes before Woakes was brought into the attack replacing the senior-most pacer, who looked a bit tight during that spell.

A delivery outside the channel with extra bounce saw the normally patient Rohit jabbing at it and the catch was taken by wicket-keeper Bairstow.

Rahul, who had already hit three boundaries, was ready to pounce on anything over-pitched outside the off-stump before Robinson got one to jag back sharply from length and the TV replays showed that the ball would have clipped the bail.

The on-field umpire’s decision was upheld.

Kohli joined Pujara, who was again defending dourly save the one that got on his pads, which was clipped to the boundary.

However, Anderson (14-3-41-1), who has dismissed Pujara more times than his skipper, bowled a delivery just in the corridor of uncertainty.

Pujara played for the inswing but once it pitched, the ball took the outside edge into Bairstow’s gloves.

After premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s exclusion, there was more surprise in store when Jadeja walked in with India at 39/3, perhaps to unsettle the bowlers with a left-right combination.

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