India v England: fourth Test, day three – live | England in India 2024

4th over: England 17-0 (Crawley 3, Duckett 14) The speed of England’s accumulation is going to be tricky for Rohit Sharma who doesn’t want many to chase. Turn from Jadeja, England busy

“Morning, Tanya and I am enjoying the coverage from Melbourne, late Sunday afternoon.” Thank you Stephen Hodson! “ From the success the India tailenders have enjoyed in the morning session, it would certainly suggest that the wicket is playing fairly easily, despite the dire predictions and outlook from earlier in the match.

“Granted, England have winkled out a couple, but this surely bodes well for England prospects of batting later, with the majority of the pitch gremlins banished back to whence they came?

I feel deeply unqualified to read this pitch. It has so many cracks but they are as yet unmoved. Just beginning to be more turn though, so I definitely wouldn’t want to bat last on it and have to chase more than 200.

3rd over: England 13-0 (Crawley 2, Duckett 11) No time to think for England, or your correspondent, with India ripping through these overs. Duckett picks up another boundary with a sweep from Ashwin.

2nd over: England 7-0 (Crawley 1, Duckett 6) Jadeja, who would have definitely been a cavalier ( Wrong but Wromantic) in 1066 and all that, opens from the other end. A dinky paddle sweep brings Duckett four, the last ball turns past Crawley’s outside edge.

Afternoon session

And hello Paul Harrison. ‘Greetings from Spanish Wells in the Bahamas!

“Mostly: thank you for the coverage! I have no idea how you get up to do this, particularly as I’m assuming you went to bed seething that *I know you so well* wasn’t on the set list. Reminds me of seeing Dylan in Benicàssim. Not a single known song was sung.”

No! I was gutted, especially as she was selling T-towels decorated with the words “He dries them so well,”

“So: do you and the OBO crew keep averages of what happens wicket-wise on your watches? I can’t help feeling that things always take a turn for the worst for England fans when you’re at the helm. I thought it was just me, until yesterday you breezily suggested that England were going to “tick past 400” and promptly collapsed. Any empirical evidence either way?” Outrageous! But no, I don’t think so… I better ask Rob…

And already the players are out on the pitch, Ashwin has ball in hand.

Coffee, coffee, coffee. With five minutes till the start of the afternoon session, everything feels in the balance. Hello there Mohammed Yaser:

“With regards Bashir and his movement to the floor, as is common with Muslim cricketers, this is a prostration to the ground where the forehead is placed on the ground with the nose, not kissing the ground; it’s not that scared, though does admittedly render the act questionable.”

Ah, of course – thank you. And hello to Pananjady Swathi, whose email is entitled : What a contest!

“Test cricket at its best

All attrition, no rest

Ask no quarter, give none

A little lapse, you’re gone

That’s what makes it a great contest.”

After an intriguing session, time for lunch in Ranchi, and breakfast in Manchester. Magnificent from Jurel, who has taken India to near equality, though the 46 run lead could still be crucial if those cracks ever show their teeth. And huge congratulations to five-wicket Shoaib Bashir. What a gut-pick he was.

WICKET! Jurel b Hartley 90 (India 307, trail England by 46 runs)

103rd over: India 307-9 (Jurel 90, Siraj 0) Four byes takes the deficit below fifty as every defensive prod from Siraj is cheered with pom-poms and pink lemonade.

102nd over: India 303-9 (Jurel 90, Siraj 0) Jurel throwing care to the wind now, muscling Hartley for six over mid wicket and four more: clear, clean, lines. Can Siraj stick around for him to make three figures?

WICKET! Deep lbw Bashir 9 (India 293-9)

100th over: India 287-8 (Jurel 80, Deep 3) A maiden from Hartley, who is lovely and loopy.

Lovely to hear from you Colum Fordham:

“Hello from a dark and dismal Naples as I set off on an early morning flight to that sun-kissed land known as Britain.
This stand is really rather annoying and Jurel may not be as thrilling to watch as the wonderful Rishab Pant – glad to hear he’s due to make a comeback – but he’s doing a great job for his team.Hope we manage to get through the tail for decent lead.”

99th over: India 287-8 (Jurel 80, Deep 3) Such poise from Jurel, who carpet-bags Bashir for another six, then a glorious shot through the covers for a single to turn the strike. And Ali confirms that it was Robinson who dropped Jurel at midwicket – just went straight through his hands. He was moved, immediately, by Stokes.

98th over: India 280-8 (Jurel 73, Deep 3) A hurried single leaves Akash scrabbling in the dust. Less than 20 minutes till lunch. Andrew Crossley, time for another one of your “Truth telling or cheap attempt at tempting the Gods…
but there’s no wicket happening in this session, is there?” emails?

97th over: India 279-8 (Jurel 72, Deep 3) Bish! Bashir is clubbed by Jurel with huge stride down the ground for six. Bash! Four more pancaked next ball. England’s lead has been ground down to 74.

96th over: India 268-8 (Jurel 61, Deep 3) The late over scurried single and we go on.

95th over: India 267-8 (Jurel 60, Deep 3) Deep is tempted because mid-on is up, and has a fling which flies just out of reach of the flying Stokes (?). Then Jurel momentarily loses concentration next ball, swinging leg side and – I think – through the hands of Ollie Robinson.

94th over: India 265-8 (Jurel 59, Deep 2) Stokes fiddles with his field, in, out, here, there. Jurel sweeps Hartley’s fifth ball for four, but that leaves Deep to face potentially six balls from Bashir, who replaces Anderson.

93rd over: India 261-8 (Jurel 55, Deep 2) Anderson again, the sixth, and probably last, of this spell. Tries a bouncer, which Jurel ducks. “Another MSD in the making” says on comms. “A street smart cricketer.” I wonder where that leaves Rishabh Pant – who google tells me is due to return to the IPL this year after that terrible car crash in December 2022. Such a wonderful player to watch, hope he can come back.

92nd over: India 260-8 (Jurel 54, Deep 2) Jurel tries sweeping Hartley, but to no avail. They take a single to the fourth ball, and on we go.

91st over: India 259-8 (Jurel 53, Deep 2) Jurel’s is the first fifty by a keeper this series. A game of cat and mouse out there now, as Stokes offers singles, and India turn them down.

A note drops in from the Philippines, hello there Andrew Benton
”Hope you’ re having a lovely Sunday morning so far. Are the stars out, or is the rain hammering?” Dark and dry at the moment.

“England are doing a very good job of bouncing back – the Bazball bounce, perhaps. It’s great to see such competitiveness from the team, even as India are not at full strength.”

Fifty for Jurel!

89th over: India 253-8 (Jurel 49, Deep 0) Kuldeep and Jurel together reduced the deficit to 100 this morning. How long can Akash Deep stick out there?

And for the first time ever ( I think), I tap the words, good morning Rocket

“When playing Tests in India it’s always worth checking the First Class stats of ‘second line’ players India bring in.

“Jurel – highest score 249, five other 50s. Kuldeep – highest score 117, six other 50s.

“Also following Jurel I can’t help but think he’s doing a ‘super’ effort out there – like his pseudo-namesake Jor-El (father of Superman).

“In Australian Rules Football we have a ‘father-son’ (and now ‘father-daughter’ also) rule to recruit offspring to the same club – if this applied in cricket would Superman play for India?” Please insert joke here about Tendulkar etc, but my brain isn’t quite up to it this morning.

WICKET! Kuldeep b Anderson 28 (India 253-8)

88th over: India 252-7 (Jurel 48, Kuldeep 28) And one tall, spindly, English spinner replaces another tall spindly English spinner. And no change to the accumulation strategy from India, just a push and a trotted single.

Love this stat from yesterday:

87th over: India 251-7 (Jurel 46, Kuldeep 28) A brief frisson of excitement for England when Foakes rolls over for a caught behind off Anderson, but no bat on it. A pushed single brings Jurel his highest Test score.

“Disaster! taps Stephen Dobbie. “Willow TV livestream goes down!Does anyone have the radio commentary link ( that works in the US)?Thank you kindly.” Talksport is on youtube – but I don’t know if you can pick that up in the US?

86th over: India 250-7 (Jurel 46, Kuldeep 28) The English fans in the crowd looking more pensive than the Indians. Another over for the tireless Bashir, and India pick off three singles.

85th over: India 247-7 (Jurel 44, Kuldeep 27) India play tip and run with Jimmy.

“Morning Tanya, Morning Brian! Morning Stephen in California! Good to know there are at least three of us in here…” Hello there Martin Wright. …”Barbara Dickson, eh? You young soul rebel, you! Taylor Swift, eat your heart out. Meanwhile, anyone else have that pit-in-the-stomach-oh-god-India-are-going-go-past-England-by-lunch-feeling? Or has pessimism struck early?” Oh dear, do you think I’ve ruined my street cred? Outrageously, she didn’t play I know him so well. And yes, India doing to England, what England did to India yesterday.

84th over: India 242-7 (Jurel 41, Kuldeep 25) Next to me, dog sighs, with a hint of fox still about her ruff. Bashir again, confident, measured – outrageously so actually for one so young.

83rd over: India 241-7 (Jurel 40, Kuldeep 25) The old warhorse is summoned, and immediately canters into an immaculate line. India twice nearly get themselves into a pickle over whether to run or not, but eventually pick up a single.

82nd over: India 240-7 (Jurel 39, Kuldeep 25) India’s tail now becoming an irritant, as Kuldeep takes advantage of the new ball to drive Bashir square to the rope.

On comms they nod sagely over the seven minutes of rolling permitted this morning to flatten out the pitch.

81st over: India 235-7 (Jurel 39, Kuldeep 20) And the new ball goes immediately to Robinson, not Jimmy Anderson. Just two slips. Oh that’s a beautiful straight drive by Jurel as Robinson overpitches searching for swing, the first time the ball has crossed the rope this morning, half an hour in.

80th over: India 230-7 (Jurel 34, Kuldeep 20) Dot, dot, another Bashir maiden and here comes the blessed new ball.

Ah, Brian Withington, hello! “You ask if anyone is awake to send an email, and I wonder how you approach the 4am shift? I keep meaning to set an early alarm but invariably end up watching something on YouTube or wherever and find it’s already approaching 3am so might as well keep going. Of course I only have to fire off the occasional email and can nod off intermittently, whereas you are required to read and curate them – whilst summarising every over of the cricket too.”

I have worthy intentions of an early bedtime, but it is so tricky to keep to them. And yesterday, darling, I had a double date of Vanya followed by the final night of Barbara Dickson’s farewell tour as OBO favourite TIm de Lisle’s plus one.

78th over: India 230-7 (Jurel 34, Kuldeep 20) Two no-balls in the first three deliveries of Robinson’s over –and here’s a statastic: he has bowled 77 no balls and taken 76 wickets in his 20 Tests. Rest of the over on the money. The current partnership stretches to an irritating 53.

78th over: India 226-7 (Jurel 33, Kuldeep 19) Kuldeep peers through the grill of his helmet as Bashir wheels in, passing in front of the umpire in his approach, like a youth on a bmx suddenly swerving into your path on the pavement.

77th over: India 226-7 (Jurel 33, Kuldeep 19) It’s overcast in Ranchi, “fresh” reports our man on the ground Ali Martin, who is wearing a hoodie. A nice save by Joe Root at slip stops a glide from Kuldeep running down to the rope, and Robinson bends his back later in the over to dig out a bouncer.

76th over: India 223-7 (Jurel 31, Kuldeep 18) Bashir through another over in the blink of an eye, just a single from it. Kuldeep nicely forward with bended knee – good movement for so early in the day.

Good morning Stephen Dobbie! “Perfect Saturday night entertainment here in California watching the lads. Just wondering if it’s too far from here to Dharamashala if we make it to 2-2!”

75th over: India 223-7 (Jurel 31, Kuldeep 18) With six overs left till the second new ball is available, Ollie Robinson starts from the other end. Almost immediately oversteps again. A relatively easy couple of singles, then some extra bounce which surprises Kuldeep Yadav.

74th over: India 219-7 (Jurel 30, Kuldeep 17) Twinkly approach to the crease, an lbw appeal first ball as Kuldeep pads him away and the Barmy Army run through Jerusalem. A maiden.

Our young Woking hero has the ball.

This was a cracking read by Barney on Shoaib Bashir yesterday:

As I prop my eyelids open, out come the players. If you’re awake, do drop me line, I’d love the company.

Also need to know how Alastair Cook and Steven Finn look so fresh in the studio every day at this ungodly hour. No baggy Ian Ward eyes to be seen, just clean, pressed, boy next door manners.

Young Jaiswal has the microphone, and is asked how he is learning to bat on these wickets ?!“I like to challenge myself all the time, I am learning from my net session and learning from my seniors.” And modest too. But India will need still more fireworks from him in the second innings, facing what seems likely to be a 100-plus deficit.

Preamble