Key events
11th over: England 43-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 29) That was a really nasty blow. And though Duckett is okay to continue, he’s clearly still in a bit of pain.
10.4 overs: England 42-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 28) Krishna changes ends to replace Deep. He beats Duckett twice, then pins him on the bottom hand with a brutish delivery. Duckett is in a fair bit of pain and the physio has come onto the field.
10th over: England 42-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 28) Duckett gets four more with an edge over gully off Siraj. It hasn’t been easy – the odd ball is moving sharply off the seam – but England have started well.
9th over: England 37-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 23) Duckett times Deep pleasantly down the ground for a couple, then scrunches wide of the sprawling Jadeja at mid-on for three. So far so good for England’s openers, even if they haven’t recaptured the audacity of their first-innings partnership. England need another 337 to win.
8th over: England 32-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 18) With just over 30 minutes remaining, Mohammed Shami is let off the leash by Shubman Gill. His third delivery is too full and punched emphatically through mid-off for four by Duckett. After 16 consecutive dot balls, England need that hit of oxygen.
“I was surprised to read your statement on Tongue currently being the top wicket-taker despite only playing three Tests,” writes Tom Van der Gucht. “He seems to fall in that bracket of bowlers (along with the likes of Steven Finn and Devon Malcolm) who take wickets but are mistrustedby captains and selectors due to their economy rates.
“Do you think England have not got the balance between dependability and maverick wicket-takers quite right this series? I know they were aiming for the knock-out blow in the last Test, hence sticking with Archer and Carse despite them being knackered. But the golden balance seems to be a steady Woakes / Potts seamer, pacier and more metronomic Atkinson/Carse and tearaway stumps rattler Archer/Wood/Tongue and Stokes… Or maybe I’m going too much down a Michael Vaughan Cricket Manager 2007 PC rabbit hole (and if I was, I’d end up doing something ludicrous like drop Stokes for Curran in order to get some left arm angles) in order to cheat the algorithm.”
It’s possibly more nuanced than that, and I’m not sure I’d agree with the categorisation of Archer and Carse. I suppose one of the few downsides of having a big group of quick bowlers is that you have to decide which three to pick for each game based on fitness, morale, the pitch, the opposition and so on. For 15 years, with a handful of exceptions, England only had to choose one quick bowler for each match.
7th over: England 27-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 13) The pressure is building. Crawley, hit on the thigh by the previous delivery, tries to smear Deep into outer space and is beaten. Two maidens in a row – that can’t have happened too often against Crawley and Duckett – and just one run from the last 17 deliveries.
6th over: England 27-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 13) Duckett feels for a good delivery from Krishna and is beaten. At least he didn’t leave it. Krishna completes a rare maiden, just the third of the match for India.
Duckett usually starts the English car but tonight he’s straining for rhythm. His 13 has come from 24 balls, Crawley’s from 13.
5th over: England 27-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 13) A few words between Duckett and Deep enliven an otherwise quiet over. No contact to report, yet.
“I agree with you, I think (with hindsight) I would have rested Jofra for Old Trafford and played him here,” says John Swan. “I guess the difficulty is, who would have the self-discipline to have Jofra available and not pick him…? Maybe there was an element too of expecting a more traditional Old Trafford wicket? Even though it’s well-known to be a slab, at least this year…”
Yeah, in this case it’s hindsight-driven but I do think England are slightly inflexible, perhaps even macho, with their use of fast bowlers. Gus Atkinson, for example, was way down on speed by the end of the New Zealand tour after playing 11 Tests out of a possible 12 in less than six months.
4th over: England 24-0 (Crawley 13, Duckett 10) Duckett tries to pull Krishna, doesn’t make proper contact and clonks the ball over mid-off for a single. Crawley, whose game looks in much better order than it did at the start of the series, times a lovely cut past backward point for four.
3rd over: England 16-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 8) Crawley is beaten, chasing a very wide short ball from Deep. England desperately need these two to set the tone as they did in the big run-chase at Headingley. And when England chased 378 against India at Edgbaston in 2022, Crawley and Alex Lees added 107 in 21.4 overs. (Lees also produced one of the great sledging retorts.)
After carving his first boundary behind square, Crawley is hit on the right bicep by an exceedingly nasty lifter. It hit the fleshy part of the arm so he’s fine to continue once the pain subsides.
India are very chirpy in the field, as they should be in this position. Deep’s second over ends with a grotesque seaming lifter, barely legal. It beats Duckett all ends up and almost clears the leaping Jurel. Good luck playing that.
Duckett, a man who would probably retain a resting heart rate if you dropped a marmot in his bath, looks at the pitch and smiles wryly.
2nd over: England 10-0 (Crawley 2, Duckett 8) India have a cover sweeper in place for Crawley, so a trademark thump yields only one run rather than four. There’s nobody on the boundary when Duckett helps himself to successive boundaries from errant deliveries on leg stump. The first was tucked off the hip, the second chipped over backward square leg.
1st over: England 1-0 (Crawley 1, Duckett 0) Eeeyyyyyyyyah, almost the perfect start for India. Deep’s fifth ball seamed and bounced sharply to hit Duckett on the top of the pad; they went up for LBW before rightly concluding it would have bounced over the top.
Prasidh Krishna will share the new ball, a change of policy from the first innings. Mohammed Siraj has been at his best with an ageing ball.
There are still 25 overs remaining tonight, not that we’ll get them in. Akash Deep is about to open the bowling.
England need 374 to win. They chased 371 in the first Test at Headingley. We all love it when the end of a story references the beginning, don’t we?
WICKET! India 396 all out (Washington c Crawley b Tongue 53)
Josh Tongue picks up a five-for in the usual style – caught midwicket off a skier. Washington launched him miles in the air and was well caught by Crawley, who almost collided with Pope as he took the catch.
That’s a terrific effort from Tongue, who has bowled 30 overs in the second innings alone. He finishes with 5 for 125 in the innings, 8 for 182 in the match and 19 in the series – that’s the most on either side, though Siraj should overtake him in the next 24 hours.
Washington smacked a brutal 53 from 46 balls and added 39 for the last wicket with Prasidh Krishna, who faced precisely two deliveries.
87th over: India 396-9 (Washington 53, Krishna 0) Even the mishits are working out for Washington. He clonks the last ball from Atkinson over mid-on for … a single, which allows him to keep the strike.
“Is there anything better,” begins Simon McMahon, who sounds like he’s high on sausages and cider, on a Saturday teatime in early August than being at a sausage and cider festival watching the last recognised batsman throwing the bat with No. 11 at the other end as the bowling side get more and more frustrated and the crowd lap it up?”
Washington races to 39-ball fifty
86.5 overs: India 395-9 (Washington 52, Krishna 0) Washington slashes and pulls Atkinson for successive boundaries – then launches a monstrous six over midwicket to reach his fifty from only 39 balls. At one stage he had 17 from 27!
This is a thrilling assault from a player of enormous substance. That six has done such damage to the ball that it will need to be changed.
86th over: India 379-9 (Washington 36, Krishna 0) The value of that bye becomes apparent when Washington hooks Tongue for two sixes in three balls. Big ones, too, almost a mirror image of Ian Botham at Old Trafford in 1981.
Tongue bowls successive wides before Washington takes a single off the fifth legitimate delivery of the over. Krishna has one ball to survive… and Tongue spears it down the leg side. India lead by 356.
85th over: India 364-9 (Washington 23, Krishna 0) Washington goes into T20 mode, lifting a full ball from Atkinson for a big six over midwicket. Atkinson tries to hide the last delivery to keep Washington down at that end; Krishna thwarts him by stealing a bye to the keeper.
84th over: India 357-9 (Washington 17, Krishna 0) Ah, that’s why Siraj was keen to go upstairs – he got a very thin inside edge. Sudharsan and Jurel wasted reviews earlier in the innings.
“Cheers for pointing me towards that OBO of England v India in the T20 World Cup years ago,” writes John Davis. “I always enjoy reading those with the benefits of hindsight. Particularly enjoyed this little gem later on: ‘Anderson – a good bowler, maybe very good, but still laughably overrated in this country’.”
For some reason, I had a wart on my fanny over Anderson throughout the summer of 2009. I don’t mind getting it wrong – everyone does – but I wish I could take back some of the sneering, arrogant language.
WICKET! India 357-9 (Siraj LBW b Tongue 0)
Josh Tongue picks up his seventh wicket of a match in which he has blown hot and cold. He gets Siraj out of there straight away with a full, quick delivery that hits the pad in front of middle and leg. Siraj considers a review, then realises India don’t have any left. I think it would have hit leg stump.
Ravindra Jadeja had never previously scored 300 runs in a Test series. He finishes this one with 516 runs at an average of 86 – including 315 at 315 in the second innings.
WICKET! India 357-8 (Jadeja c Brook b Tongue 53)
Ravindra Jadeja has been dismissed in the second innings of a Test match. He snicked Tongue to second slip, where Brook took the catch to his right. There was no celebration from Brook, only a look of slight disgust because of the earlier dropped catches.
83rd over: India 356-7 (Jadeja 53, Washington 16) A huge inducker from Atkinson beats Jadeja all ends up and hits him on the pad, leading to a strangled shout for LBW from England. It did so much that it would have missed leg stump. Probably too high as well.
“Have to say this is the best pitch this series,” writes Arul Kanhere. “A shame those who could have most exploited it are not playing in this match. Nevertheless, the cricket has been good, aside from the drops. Not that I am complaining.”
Yep, it’s a much better contest. At the start of the Bazball era England were praised for concentrating only on the game in front of them, a welcome change from the confused selection policy in the previous winter’s Ashes. But if they had their time again, I wonder whether they would have rested Jofra Archer or Brydon Carse in the fourth Test to save them for this game.
82nd over: India 354-7 (Jadeja 52, Washington 15) Jadeja cuts Josh Tongue for four to reach another half-century, his fifth of the series in addition to the century at Old Trafford. Champions turn failure into fuel. Jadeja has responded to a lean winter, when he averaged 26 across eight Tests, by having easily the best series of his career with the bat/
81st over: India 345-7 (Jadeja 47, Washington 11) England are such a bunch of weirdos – no that was a compliment – that they’ll still fancy their chances of winning this game.
Gus Atkinson takes the new ball and steels himself for what he hopes will be one last spell. Washington takes a tight single to mid-on, one of three from the over.
80th over: India 342-7 (Jadeja 45, Washington 10) Washington whips Root stylishly through mid-on for four. And with that, it’s time for the second new ball. India lead by 319.
79th over: India 338-7 (Jadeja 45, Washington 6) Jadeja nails a pull for four off Overton. He’s averaging 102 in this series and has scored 307 runs without being dismissed in the second innings of the five Tests.
If/when Jadeja gets out, his second innings average across the whole series will be second only to Sunil Gavaskar against West Indies on the famous 1970-71 tour.
67*, 64*, 117*, 220 = 468 runs at an average of 468
“You wrote ‘This is a nice opportunity for Jurel to remind the selectors of his batting ability’” says Nick Lezard. “Could you say something complimentary about Washington, please?”
I’ve heard good things about Pearl Street Warehouse!!
(Been a long series, sorry.)
78th over: India 330-7 (Jadeja 38, Washington 5) Two left-handers at the crease now, so Root replaces Bethell at the Match Up End.
Three singles from a forgettable over. Let’s just move on, CAN WE?
77th over: India 327-7 (Jadeja 36, Washington 4) Jadeja and Washington, the Old Trafford centurions, are reunited. Washington gets going with a pair of twos.
“I’ve basically loved Jadeja since just after the second world war,” writes Robert Wilson. “I’ve regularly pelted you OBO-jockeys with my early-adopter passion. Yes, I know Ashwin was the connoisseur’s choice but I am not a sophisticated guy. Jadeja is basically left-arm orthodox’s Darren Gough, all arse and attitude.
“He’s also the worst kind of all-rounder for opposition teams. The all-rounder who is not even meant to be an all-rounder. That is simply an insult. Particularly to specialist batsmen on a bad run, scraping and sweating over a two-hour twenty something and who then have to watch Ravindra come out and smack it all over like a cut-price Errol Flynn. l
“A Jadeja 30 or 40 is a wonderfully bargain-bin affair, all own-brand and bruised fruit. All his shots look like he downloaded them illegally but there’s nothing he can’t play. And when he tweaks one during his 25-second overs, he can make any one look like a tit. I’d loved to be sledged by him. I bet he’s good at that too.”
Sixteen years ago – sixteen years ago – Jadeja played a match-losing innings against England at Lord’s in the T20 World Cup. Fair to say it reinforced his clarity: since then he’s been on the winning side in 218 international matches. And quite a few of those victories have come off his own bat/ball/arse/attitude.
WICKET! India 323-7 (Jurel LBW b Overton 34)
Jamie Overton picks up his second wicket. Jurel plays down the wrong line of a fuller delivery that straightens to hit the flap of the back pad. That’s plumb. For some reason Jurel decides to spaff India’s last review before walking off.
76th over: India 323-6 (Jadeja 35, Jurel 34) This is a nice opportunity for Jurel to remind the selectors of his batting ability. Were it not for him, it would have been 2-2 going into the final Test between these sides 18 months ago. When Jadeja’s time comes, a middle order of Gill, Pant, Washington and Jurel would score oodles of runs. And you’d have a world-class wicketkeeper. And Rishabh Pant could play as a specialist batter. It might free him up, as he can be a bit self-conscious with the bat.
“As every day, week, month and year passes, Don Bradman becomes greater and greater,” writes Will Ellen. 2No one can touch him. No one can even get close to touching him. This has been a batting series that dreams are made of for Shubman Gill, but he has still ‘only’ averaged 75.4, 25 odd less than the Don. (The fact he averages 99.94, rather than say 100.3, reminds us he’s human)
“In terms of the greatest, Messi has Pele and Maradona, Djokovic has Federer and Nadal, O’Sullivan has Hendry and Davis, F1 probably has a few people who are good at driving round in circles (I wouldn’t know, I don’t watch it). But in batting terms Bradman is just peerless.”
Yep, it’s almost mind-blowing how superior he is to everybody else who has played the game apart from Andy Ganteaume. His average is almost akin to a three-minute mile.
75th over: India 320-6 (Jadeja 34, Jurel 33) Red Bloke puts a beige jumper over his shirt, prompting applause from the crowd and a thumbs-up from Jadeja. Overton, summoning energy from goodness knows where, rams a terrific short ball that Jadeja top-edges straight over the keeper’s head for four. India lead by 297.
74th over: India 312-6 (Jadeja 27, Jurel 32) A man in a suit asks Red Bloke to move; Red Bloke declines his kind offer. Then a chap wearing a bib emblazoned with the word MANAGER wanders over, leading to this bit of commentary on Sky.
Nasser Hussain “The manager’s gonna have a word.”
Stuart Broad (deadpan) “How d’you know he’s the manager?”
73rd over: India 310-6 (Jadeja 27, Jurel 30) Jamie Overton returns after tea, confirmation that Atkinson and Tongue will take the second new ball. The poor buggers have already bowled 49 overs between them!
A quiet over from Overton is dominated by a fella behind the sightscreen whose red polo shirt is putting the Indian players off. Said fella is oblivious to this and looks very confused when he seems himself on the big screen for the second time in 30 seconds.
“A lot of tennis matches have been decided by “unforced errors “ and crucial double faults,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “Dropped catches amount to the same in a cricket match. England may still chase what needs to be chased but I get a feeling that they might end up regretting these drops and fall just short.”
Agree. I find it weird and dispiriting that every England defeat needs to be framed as some kind of moral failing, or decisive evidence in the case of R v. Bazball. At times in this game England’s bowling and catching has been poor; India have been the better team. I’m not sure there’s any more to it than that.
72nd over: India 307-6 (Jadeja 27, Jurel 27) India’s batters have a dilemma: do they try to pummel England’s part-time spinner(s) until the second new ball available or accumulate sensibly and build India’s lead? For now it’s the latter – three singles from Bethell’s over.
“Shelve the cricket for a moment,” writes Brian Rafferty. “I’d just like to say a huge thank you to you and the team, and to fellow OBO contributors, for the warmth and companionship when it is needed most.
“The tributes to Thorpey were lovely to read yesterday but the quality of writing in here is something else. You are all watching and responding at the same time and still manage to express yourselves in such beautiful ways. Thank you. There – that’s my hug back to you all.”
Thanks Brian. It’s Daniel Harris and the readers who deserve credit for yesterday’s coverage; I’ll be sure to pass it on.
The evening session
The players are back on the field. This will be an extended session to make up some of the time lost on the first day. Jacob Bethell is going to start.
Tea
71st over: India 304-6 (Jadeja 26, Jurel 25) Jurel finishes the session with a flourish, driving and pulling Tongue for back-to-back boundaries. A thick edge for two brings up India’s 300, then he clips the last ball of the session for three more.
India go to tea with a lead of 281. They definitely have enough this time.
They might have enough. They probably have enough. Is this even enough? Enough already!
70th over: India 291-6 (Jadeja 26, Jurel 12) Joe Root starts a new spell with a pie that is gobbled up by Jurel. We shouldn’t forget that he’s a proper player who averages almost 50 in first-class cricket.
Talking of proper players, Jadeja has yet to be dismissed in the second innings in this series: he’s 288 not out. Spinners are supposed to come to the party in the second innings but that’s ridiculous.
69th over: India 284-6 (Jadeja 25, Jurel 6) “Even though Overton’s likelihood for the next series is declining, there seems to be a drift against Sam Cook too,” says John Starbuck. “Atkinson and Tongue are obviously going to travel but there doesn’t seem to be any favourites from the County Championship. All the established one are crocked or, at least, liable to be crocked again.”
One problem, made by Yas on the excellent Wisden podcast, is that county pitches have been very flat all summer so most of the England contenders are averaging in the 30s. Fitness permitting, England will take Atkinson, Archer, Wood, Tongue, Carse and maybe one more. Contenders include Sam Cook, Matt Potts, Olly Stone, Dillon Pennington, maybe even Eddie Jack. My hunch is it’ll be Stone or Pennington.
68th over: India 282-6 (Jadeja 24, Jurel 5) Jurel flashes Atkinson through the vacant backward point region for his first boundary. Later in the over an LBW shout is caught in the throat because of an inside edge. India lead by 259.
“I find myself feeling pretty ambivalent about the result of this Test,” says Joshua Keeling. “Yes, I’d like England to win, but we can’t lose the series, and to be honest, it’s been such a close series between two evenly matched teams, a draw feels about right.”
It’ll be a bit of a travesty if India lose 2-1, never mind 3-1. Mind you, this time last week I thought England were going to win 4-1; in that context a draw would be a little deflating. I guess the historical merit of a 2-2 draw – and I’m not saying this is right – will be determined by what happens in the Ashes.
67th over: India 278-6 (Jadeja 24, Jurel 1) Replays show Jadeja thought he was out too; he only reviewed the LBW after encouragement from Dhruv Jurel.
REVIEW! Jadeja is not out
Yep, the decision is overturned. He was hit on the toe by a sizzling inswinging yorker from Tongue, a delivery so persuasive that Kumar Dharmasena raised the finger even though it hit Jadeja outside the line.
The decision was overturned on review but now Jadeja needs treatment after having his toe crushed by that delivery from Tongue. I think he’ll be okay to continue.
Jadeja is out LBW to Tongue – but he’s reviewed and I think it’ll be overturned.
66th over: India 276-6 (Jadeja 22, Jurel 1) The wicket leads to a change of plan from England: Root off, Atkinson on. The new batter Jurel is sent back by Jadeja and has to scramble to make his ground; Duckett’s throw missed the stumps but I’m pretty sure he would have been safe.
“This is gone innit?” says Phil Harrison. “Shame. Still, silver linings yet? We now know that Atkinson can make an impression against players a level above the ones he’s faced so far. We know that Tongue has got something, even if he keeps it incredibly well hidden sometimes. And we know that Overton really hasn’t.”
Overton has been a bit unlucky, I think, though I wouldn’t have selected him and it won’t be a surprise if he becomes a two-Test wonder.
65th over: India 273-6 (Jadeja 20, Jurel 0) Are England still in this game? I honestly have no idea.
WICKET! India 273-6 (Jaiswal c J Overton b Tongue 118)
A strength can be a weakness. Yashasvi Jaiswal has fallen to what has been his favourite shot in this innings, cutting Tongue straight down the throat of Overton at deep backward point. He walks to a fully deserved ovation after making a superb, probably matchwinning 118 from 164 balls.
64th over: India 272-5 (Jaiswal 118, Jadeja 19) Jaiswal blasts Root towards extra cover, where Duckett dives to make a good stop. Root has started economically, with two overs for a single. Sooner rather than later, however, he is going downtown.