England and their lapses sees another day of toil and work, with 6 dropped chances and a failure of management.
England made to toil amid mishaps of their own making.
Ben Stokes, who else?
On Saturday, it felt like that. England is frantically searching for anything that could save them. They were losing not just day three but also this fifth Test and a series victory.
Their standout bowler, captain, and frequent saviour were on the balcony enjoying a well-earned nap when your right shoulder was in serious danger. Ollie Pope, meanwhile, was trapped in a nightmare while on his native land.
Sifting through bowling combinations sans Chris Woakes and fields with a cordon that seemed incapable of catching, there he was. It was sometimes like seeing a man try to eat soup with his hands. He would periodically return to the home dressing room to wash them and enquire as to if anyone had discovered a spoon or even a fork, but all he would get in return was blank looks, large sunglasses, and white sneakers.
All you can say about England’s bowlers is that they persevered in a significant manner. Not merely working, but working with a certain amount of hatred in their hearts. In Test cricket, nobody enjoys being dog-walked, as they were for seventy overs.
Josh Tongue claimed his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket, but at a high cost (5 for 125 from 30 overs). Despite only playing three games, he ends the series as England’s top wicket-taker with 19.
After being sidelined for two months due to a hamstring injury, Gus Atkinson’s 3 for 127 saw him tap into what are currently rather weak reserves. He added a few pearlers and another 27 overs of work to the first innings’ five-for. After lunch, he showed off his skill by getting rid of India captain Shubman Gill with the first ball.
It was difficult to keep from feeling sorry for them. On a day like this, the contrast between bowling and batting was particularly noticeable: the former dragged for 396 while the latter set 374. When Washington Sundar used his sixes to conduct the dhols in the stands during the final partnership, it felt the most like that. The total cost of the six drops was 152, which included two from Harry Brook, two from Zak Crawley, one from Ben Duckett, and one from subfielder Liam Dawson.
In all honesty, however, the three substitutes were always going to have a difficult time organising a series finale. especially considering that the last two Test matches, at Lord’s and Old Trafford, which did not include any of them, had provided the series a great deal of emotion and storyline. If you think it’s difficult to leap out of a moving car, try jumping into one.
Overton was coming in chilly, and Atkinson. After two Test matches, Tongue returned a month after being shelved for Jofra Archer. Each would have had to cope with their own stresses, which were made worse by being put in together.
Jaiswal sliced and diced 72 of his first 100 runs behind square on the off side, committing the cardinal error of getting cut more often than they were driven in seaming conditions. A pitch like that seemed ideal for Sam Cook. Matthew Potts, too. The game for these surfaces is encoded in both of them. Nevertheless, neither was deemed deserving of the squad.
At the beginning of the five-match series, it was intended that there would be enough personnel changes to keep the top quicks rested. And there was enough to shuffle through despite the injuries to Olly Stone, Mark Wood, and Atkinson at first.
Different universe strands exist if Woakes does not injure his left shoulder. Alternatively, Brook keeps Jaiswal for twenty. Dawson on 40, perhaps. Alternatively, Crawley and Deep on 21 could end a nightwatcher innings of 66 before it had a significant negative impact on the team.
However, the one noteworthy thread that was eliminated long before the game started was a more well-thought-out attack strategy. They need to master it before the Ashes this winter. The past two months should teach us something.
However, they will also wish for some good fortune. Just take a look at India, who have lost all three of his games despite having the only generational fast in the series. And they are quite pleased with the way things have turned out.