India’s record Rajkot win a symbol of unity as Bazball goes bust

A remarkable win for India inside four days of the third Test in Rajkot, from whichever angle you view it. To be 33 for 3 after winning the toss, and then score 445 – despite leaving plenty of runs out on the field – to then looking clueless as Ben Duckett swept England to 207 for 2 in 35 overs on the second day, and then seal the country’s largest Test win by runs ever, counts as a remarkable success for Rohit Sharma’s team.

Ominously for England in the context of the series, which now stands at 2-1 in India’s favour, is that the traits of an Indian team serious about winning Test matches came to the fore during this match in a manner missing in the Hyderabad loss and Visakhapatnam victory. And, ironically, it happened when India were missing Virat Kohli and KL Rahul which prompted the management to field the weakest 11 in memory, containing two debutants and a middle-order batsman just one Test old.

The most important day of the match, and potentially the series, was day three. It began with Duckett on 133 off 118 deliveries, England scoring at just under six runs per over and India without Ravichandran Ashwin who had to suddenly exit the match on account of a family emergency. And it was on that day that Rohit’s captaincy turned proactive – he apparently told his team-mates not to cower in front of Bazball – and the bowlers delivered their finest hour as a unit in this series.

How many of us could have envisioned India igniting an England collapse of 95 for 8 that day, without Ashwin who had the evening before claimed this 500th Test wicket? Sure, Joe Root’s brain fade of a dismissal to Jasprit Bumrah, trying to reverse paddle him only to lob the ball to second slip, helped trigger that dramatic downfall to 319 all out, but what we witnessed that day was immense drive and skill to keep hammering away at a much-vaunted lineup. Kuldeep Yadav, who went for seven run an over the previous session, got Jonny Bairstow and Duckett, whose preferred mode of sweeps and reverse-sweeps were suddenly, and very belatedly, cut off by outfielders. And then Mohammed Siraj cut through the lower order with four wickets.

This was brilliant work. Perhaps the best any Indian bowling unit has bowled in these conditions, against a team whose batting is its strength. And remember, there was no Ashwin.

And so, about two hours from Root’s dismissal, England were 319 all out. A potentially disastrous situation had been remarkably avoided, India had a lead of 124, and the match, and as I said the series, had turned on its head.

From there, it was over to the young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal to bury Bazball in the Rajkot turf. A third Test century before stumps, with every conceivable shot on view, to help India to 196 for the loss of two wickets. Cutting, driving, pulling, flicking is one thing, but the way Jaiswal swept and reverse-swept England’s spinners was to marvel at how Bazball had a serious challenger. This was stunning batting from a 22-year-old in his seventh Test match.

He retired with a back spasm and returned on the fourth morning at the unfortunate dismissal of Shubman Gill for 91, who was run out by a silly call from the nightwatchman Kuldeep, who himself had batted 91 balls for his 27 runs. The fun continued, as Jaiswal combined with his good friend and Mumbai team-mate Sarfaraz Khan, in a dazzling partnership that got India to 430/4 declared and. Underlined just how important youth is in his lineup. Indeed, there were shades of the tour of Australia in 2020-21 in the way this Indian team, staring at potential defeat, rallied back through sheer perseverance and the work of youngsters such as Jaiswal and Sarfaraz. Are the selectors watching?

Jaiswal finished with 214 not out, his second double-hundred of the series, having smacked 14 fours and a record-equaling 12 sixes. On day three, Test cricket’s most successful fast bowler was hit for 19 runs in an over, and on day four as the declaration loomed, Jaiswal hit James Anderson for three sixes in a row. Sarfaraz, on debut, added to his first-innings 62 off 66 balls with an unbeaten 68 off 72 deliveries.

Sagging, England were left to chase a target of 557. The mind wandered back to Anderson’s statement from the second Test that England would attempt to get 600. No such bravado at all, however, as Bazball went bust. England were bowled out for 122, at one stage 50/7, to surrender feebly. Their last eight wickets fell in a session as Jadeja claimed 5/11 on his home ground to hand India their greatest win in terms of runs.

The series has turned India’s way in dramatic manner, and with two Tests to go in the series, it is Ben Stokes’ England team which now heads into its biggest match ever.