Wednesday 30 November 2016

Third test

Day one, England won the toss and batted!  But fluffed their lines and posted an inadequate 283 thanks mostly to 89 from Bairstow.  On day two good bowling and fielding kept England in the match, Stokes and Rashid were particularly impressive.  The third day saw India's lower order take the game away, Jadeja scored 90 on the way to an challenging total of 417.  A lead of 130 looked daunting and proved too much for England who lost four wickets before the close.  On the fourth day Root scored 78 and an injured Hameed made an unbeaten 59 but England could only set a target of 103 which India knocked off with eight wickets to spare.

This was a poor performance from England's batting unit who don't face high class spin often enough to be proficient at tackling it.  The bowlers are doing better than I expected on this tour but England's batting remains a worry.  Unfortunately Haseeb Hameed has a broken finger and will have to return home for surgery.  He's done enough in three matches to make himself a fixture of the England team for a long time to come.  Keaton Jennings of Durham has been called up as a replacement, to be honest I know nothing about him but its good to see another fresh face getting a chance.  Likewise Liam Dawson will come in to replace Ansari who is struggling with a back injury.

Two down with two to play it's hard to imagine England coming back to get a draw in this series but we England fans are forever optimistic.

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