England v India: third Test, day two – as it happened

30th over: India 124-2 (Pujara 33, Kohli 8) Stokes carries on bombing Kohli, who sees him off. And that’s stumps, with India in a ridiculously strong position thanks to Hardik Pandya, their fourth seamer, who took five wickets in a single spell. We’ve had 307 runs in the day, just like yesterday, but there have been 16 wickets instead of six.

Thanks for your company and some terrific correspondence, and thanks too to Adam Collins for putting in a long and lively shift while all those English wickets were tumbling. Say what you like about England – they’re good copy.

The last email comes in from Simon Horbury at The Oval. “I ought to add,” he says (27th over), “that when a certain S Curran came onto bowl here, there were chants of ‘We hate Stokes’ from the Surrey faithful. Slightly unfair as it meant that Sammy was able to play for his wonderful county instead!”

Hang on, here’s one more. “I love Rashid with the spent passion of a thousand dying stars,” says Robert Wilson. “It’s not much of a compliment. He had me at temperamental and titchy leggie and he would have to be the worst ever to lose my heart. That said, he’s like a particularly brilliant eight-year-old. It’s all about the wrong ’un.

“Fag-smoking reprobate and letch, Shane Warne was never eight years old (even when he was eight). The googly, the slider and the quantum plunger were all smoke and mirrors to contextualise the murderous straight one. Filling batsmen’s heads with preposterous trigonometry until they fell victim to the bleak ordinance of the arm-ball. Brilliant, really. I wish Adil would learn that particular piece of sociopathic excellence.”

29th over: India 124-2 (Pujara 33, Kohli 8) Anderson finds a peach to beat Pujara’s bat. Root was tempted to review but Buttler, his No 2, shook his head in authoritative fashion.

Here’s John Starbuck, picking up on my question from the 27th over. “‘Bumpers’ is usually reserved for vehicles, these days, though there is some old-fashioned innuendo usage too.” Ah yes, Grace Jones. “Most people now say ‘bouncers’ (even more sexual innuendo) but since details of the Stokes Case emerged this might be a bit sensitive. How about ‘short balls’ or, plainly, ‘bodyline’? Even more old-fashioned but definitely intimidating.” Yes, bodyline is a great word, but it’s a strategy, not a delivery.

28th over: India 124-2 (Pujara 33, Kohli 8) Stokes’s umpteenth bouncer unsettles Kohli, who ends up flat-batting it to the left of short leg. The next ball, also a bouncer, then comes close to finding the edge as Kohli opts to hook, but Bairstow fumbles it anyway.

“There is heated debate over the England team’s performance,” says Bill Hargreaves, “and with good reason. With regard to selection, I think it’s time we discussed the elephant in the room. We’ve heard a lot about Geoffrey Boycott’s grandmother: it’s time she were given the nod.”

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27th over: India 122-2 (Pujara 33, Kohli 6) Pujara has a waft at Anderson, but gets away with it as there’s more bounce than he expected. The last ten overs have gone for only 26, which is a crumb of comfort for England.

“Ben may be fine with his recall,” says Andy Smith, “but it has taken the focus of the Test away from the pre-match preparation, and we are suffering for it. Stokesy may have convinced our raw and inexperienced Capt Root that he was ready for a return, but wiser heads should have stepped in. We had a very capable player in Sam Curran, who should have played while Stokesy cooled his heels.” Hard to argue with that.

27th over: India 121-2 (Pujara 33, Kohli 5) In the glow of the evening sun, Stokes is betting that Pujara can be bounced out, as he was in the first innings, by Woakes. Standing deep in his crease, unlike his team-mates, Pujara does well to evade one of Stokes’s better bumpers. Does anyone say bumpers any more?

An email from Simon Horbury. “I’ve been at The Oval watching pink-ball cricket,” he says, “so I’ve not really been following England, but having noticed the catching is dismal (again), can I suggest that whoever the fielding coach at Lancashire is, he should be drafted in pronto. Annoyingly good slips!”

26th over: India 119-2 (Pujara 32, Kohli 4) Hmmm. Straight after taking that wicket, Rashid is removed from the attack, to make way for Anderson. Yes, Anderson bowls well at Kohli – but so does Rashid.

25th over: India 117-2 (Pujara 31, Kohli 3) Woakes finally takes his sweater after a superb spell for no reward (8-1-19-0). On comes Stokes, who apparently gave the team talk as England came out. He goes for four singles as Kohli settles in.

A broadside has landed, from David Keech. “This match has been lost – and unless, counter to forecast, it pours down for the last 3 days, lost it is – and here are the reasons:

“Arrogance: assuming a team as good as India will automatically collapse in a heap every time the ball swings a miniscule. The decision to insert after winning the toss was complete arrogance.

“Lack of realism: England don’t do well when batting second facing a decent score. England’s second-Test win was based on outrageous luck. Stokes doesn’t deserve a place above Curran right now. England don’t catch well. All should have screamed don’t bat 2^nd and balance your attack.

“Stupidity: defined as repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. Playing positive worked once. All it does now is create mega-collapses such as losing 10 wickets in a session after being 46–0 at lunch.”

24th over: India 113-2 (Pujara 29, Kohli 1) A minor triumph for Rashid, who has 1-24 off five overs.

Redemption for Rashid! He bowls a googly and deceives Dhawan, who is stranded down the track and neatly stumped by Bairstow. However exasperating he can be, Rashid continues to get good batsmen out.

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23rd over: India 109-1 (Dhawan 42, Pujara 28) Woakes gives away a four, for once, as Dhawan plays a leg-glance and Rashid, to Woakes’s irritation, opts not to dive at fine leg.

22nd over: India 103-1 (Dhawan 38, Pujara 27) A better over from Rashid, varying his pace and keeping Pujara quiet.

21st over: India 102-1 (Dhawan 38, Pujara 26) Woakes continues his lonely masterclass with a maiden. “England are not going to win this game,” says David Lloyd. “Can they save it?” You wouldn’t bet on it.

20th over: India 101-1 (Dhawan 38, Pujara 26) A few more singles off Rashid, who has 0-18 off three overs, and India have a hundred on the board already. Root doesn’t appear to be talking to Rashid much, when he seems the sort of bowler who needs a confidence boost.

19th over: India 97-1 (Dhawan 35, Pujara 25) A reprieve for Dhawan, and an injustice for Woakes, who’s been much the best bowler this evening.

“Collingwood,” says Ian Copestake, “still plays cricket.”

Scrambled seam, classic nick, bad miss – low to Cook’s right at first slip, but a lot easier than the one he caught yesterday.

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18th over: India 96-1 (Dhawan 34, Pujara 25) A few singles and a two off Rashid. “He needs control or he needs wickets,” reckons Kumar Sangakkara, “one or the other.”

“Brian W. [13th over] is far too kind,” says Ian Copestake, “but alas I have failed at the first hurdle of opttimism which is to live in a world far removed from reality where hopes are confused dreams flounderng in the wind. Still a bit surprised by our ball throwers though.”

17th over: India 91-1 (Dhawan 32, Pujara 22) Woakes, bowling to Pujara, strings together five more dots. With figures of 5-0-13-0, he’s the only bowler in this innings going for fewer than five an over. The lead is 260.

“Re. Messrs Copestake and Withington [13th over],” says Damian Clarke. “Going have to watch Unbreakable at stumps.”

16th over: India 90-1 (Dhawan 31, Pujara 22) Rashid has a near one-day field, with just a slip in close, but there’s no one to stop Pujara’s elegant late cut. Pujara tries an instant replay and plays under the ball as Rashid finds some nice bounce. Then there’s a long hop, which is pulled straight for four. So two bad balls from Rashid, both punished; but one moral victory too.

The sun is out, and Adil Rashid is coming on. He’s the only spinner to take a wicket in this match – that of Virat Kohli.

An email from Lingam Manasvi. “I have only three (dreaded?) words to say regarding the selection: Bring back KP!”

15th over: India 81-1 (Dhawan 30, Pujara 14) Dhawan clips Woakes for four and that’s drinks, with India so firmly in charge, they could be Brighton playing Man United.

And our latest selector is Kim Thonger. “As Root appears to be mentally exhausted and is transmitting his tiredness to the ‘batting unit’, why not drop him for the final two tests and bring Sam Curran in as captain?”

14th over: India 76-1 (Dhawan 25, Pujara 14) Pujara straight-drives Stokes for four, then on-drives him for four more: two handsome strokes.

The selection debate continues. “Obviously time to recall Hales to open the batting in place of Jennings,” Nigel Williamson reckons. “He has all the iconoclastic attributes that Ed Smith seems to like. He doesn’t play red ball cricket any more and loves hanging around dodgy nightclubs at 2.30am. Cometh the hour, cometh the unsuitable man...”

13th over: India 67-1 (Dhawan 24, Pujara 6) Woakes, using the crease, keeps Pujara quiet, and beats him with the last ball, angled in and jagging away.

Brian Withington has a question for you. “Is the ever optimistic Ian Copestake (4th over) the yang to my yin (Eng 37th over)? I could only aspire to such potential interconnectedness with the spiritual master of the OBO.”

12th over: India 66-1 (Dhawan 23, Pujara 6) Well bowled Stokes, but also well played Rahul, who got this innings off to a breezy start. Stokes blots his copybook a bit by greeting Pujara with a puffball bouncer and then a freebie on leg stump, duly flicked for four. A thickish edge brings two more, and the lead is a towering 234.

Stokes makes the breakthrough! It was full, it was heading in, it hit the pad and then the stumps. And that’s Stokes’s first wicket on his hotly debated comeback.

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11th over: India 59-0 (Dhawan 22, Rahul 36) Woakes has another stifled appeal, against Rahul, but his nip-backer was nipping back too far. And another, less stifled, but again doing too much. There’s enough movement to keep England interested, but not enough to get India bothered.

A salty tweet from Nuggehalli Nigam. “Dhawan’s strategy of relying solely on fortune rather than skill might backfire at some point.”

10th over: India 56-0 (Dhawan 20, Rahul 36) A double change as Stokes comes on. First ball, he sends a man flying to the floor. But it’s an innocent collision with Dhawan, who was responding to a bit of tip-and-run from Rahul, and they’re all smiles. Last ball, Rahul edges an inswinger and Bairstow misses a tough chance to his left. To add insult to insult, it goes for four. Rahul, riding his luck but playing shrewdly too, has 36 off only 29 balls.

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9th over: India 50-0 (Dhawan 19, Rahul 31) Right on cue, here is Woakes. Dhawan cuts for four, with Pope perhaps getting a fingertip to it as he makes a salmon leap at cover. There’s an lbw appeal, but it’s on the high side and maybe pitching outside leg. That’s two opening partnerships of fifty for India in the match, the first time they’ve managed it in a Test in England since 1986.

“The subtle art of captaincy,” says Geoff Wignall. “So no runs to play with and no third man, where England have leaked runs throughout the series? The reasoning is far too subtle for me to spot.

“On the question of how to incorporate Bell, surely at 3 with Bairstow & Cook opening, Root at 4, Pope 5, Buttler 6 & keeping, Woakes 7, Curran 8, Jennings and Stokes elsewhere.”

8th over: India 46-0 (Dhawan 15, Rahul 31) Dhawan slices Broad for four over the slips, which leads Root, finally, to post a third man. It’s Stokes, about ten yards in, so maybe he’s a very fly slip. And then Rahul crashes another four past cover. Part of England’s problem here is that their two old stagers didn’t get a decent rest, as their innings only lasted 38.2 overs. Time for Woakes, surely.

7th over: India 37-0 (Dhawan 10, Rahul 27) Anderson is bowling a very full length, rightly, but it allows Rahul to play a block for four, through mid-off. And when Anderson adjusts by going back to a good length, Rahul seizes on it and plays a dreamy back-foot glide through the covers. India lead by 205.

6th over: India 29-0 (Dhawan 10, Rahul 19) An early single for Rahul allows Broad to have a good go at Dhawan, who very nearly gets a touch on a fast, lifting leg-break. Calm has been restored, but England need wickets – about four of them.

5th over: India 28-0 (Dhawan 10, Rahul 18) Anderson raps Dhawan on the pad with the in-ducker, but only the slips appeal as it’s too high. That’s a maiden, which England needed – you can hardly keep calm and carry on if you’re not calm in the first place.

On Twitter, Andrew Samson from TMS has a good spot. “England did not lose 10 wickets in a session between 1938 and 2016. Today is the 3rd time they have done this in 2 years (24 Tests). Others: v Bangladesh at Mirpur 2016 and v NZ Auckland 2018.”

4th over: India 28-0 (Dhawan 10, Rahul 18) Beaten by a jaffa, Rahul then edges Broad low, to the boundary at third man, or third no-man as we may have to start calling it. Same again, more of a guide, for two this time; then a better shot, a controlled flash for four more. A day that began so well for England is running away from them at high speed.

But hope springs eternal for Ian Copestake. “Surely perfect conditions for your Jimmy Andersons, Stuart Broads and Chris Woakeses to swing India out for 50 and get the win.”

3rd over: India 18-0 (Dhawan 10, Rahul 8) Rahul lofts Anderson over square leg for four, as if playing in a benefit match, then goes for a big mow and gets an inside edge in the same direction.

“In their own conditions India baltied and curried England in their own backyard,” says Inderpal Sokhy. “Joy unbounded. C’mon jawans of India, do it.” They’d be hard put not to, from here.

2nd over: India 13-0 (Dhawan 10, Rahul 3) Rahul is away with a leg glance or two, and then Dhawan gets a leading edge that plops safely between cover and mid-off. It’s dead gloomy at Trent Bridge, and I’m not just talking about England’s predicament.

1st over: India 8-0 (Dhawan 8, Rahul 0) Second ball, Dhawan plays a delicious cover drive for four. Third ball, he’s rapped amidships as they say on TMS, but not too bothered by it. Last ball, he edges a full one off the back of the bat for four through fourth slip, which is vacant because England have no runs to play with.

England are out there, and Anderson is on a hat-trick. Dhawan the man facing... and he plays a comfortable push into the on side for none.

“Obviously at this juncture,” muses James Walsh, “one’s mind turns to the question of who should be dropped for an Ian Bell recall in the fourth Test. Pope could make way as punishment for having a cover drive not quite as beautiful as Bell’s, but that seems a touch retrograde after two Tests.

“They could drop Stokes and play Bell at six, where he has a much better batting record. Also Bell’s medium-pace swingers would break up the sameyness of England’s pace attack. Or if Bell reports to the ECB that he hasn’t bowled in a decade and isn’t sure his record justifies his place as fourth seamer, they could bring back Curran and drop Butler, whose place in the team as a specialist number seven is a bit odd, and put Bell in ahead of Stokes.

“My personal preferred option, however, is to put Jennings out of his misery and have Bell alongside his old ODI opening partner and close pal Alastair Cook. I look forward to seeing which Sledgehammer option Ed Smith et al go along with.”

A heartfelt email from Deepak. “On the subject of names (start of day’s play), there’s a simple reason that R Ashwin prefers to be known as such: Ravichandran is his father’s name, while his actual given name is Ashwin. Like most South Indian Hindus (myself included), the family name is rarely used, with more importance given to the father’s name and then the given name. On an unrelated note, I live in the South Indian state of Kerala which, as you may know, has been severely affected by heavy rainfall and flooding. I am lucky to be in a place that has escaped the disaster almost completely, but many of my fellow Malayalis, including relatives and friends, are still in deep trouble. It is therefore my duty to ask a favour of the amazing OBO community: please help the victims in any way that you can. Here are a few links for people from the UK to contribute:

https://sewauk.org/current-appeals/appeal-for-kerala-flood-relief/

https://fundly.com/kerala-flood-relief-fund-from-europe

https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/how-to-donate-to-cm-relief-fund-for-kerala-flood-relief-and-rehabilitation-4991431.html

“Every little bit counts. Thank you all.”

Well, well, well. While Adam was on duty, I slipped out for lunch with some friends, who produced a spectacular home-made crumble. Which is just what England have done. Ten in a session is going some even by their standards, but well well well played India.

In other news, Man United are two down at Brighton. Make that 2-1.

19 Aug 201811.31 EDT

Adam Collins

That’s me done. What a session. But as we unpick the England collapse - all ten wickets falling for 107 - don’t forget the Indian quicks. From the moment they walked out after lunch they put on a clinic. Ishant and Bumrah, then Shami and Pandya - all brilliant. The latter, in the process, nabbed his maiden five-wicket bag in Test cricket. Speaking of five, that’s the number of catches taken by Pant, the wicketkeeper on debut. Over to Tim de Lisle. I’ll talk to you all on day four, provided the Test makes it that far. Bye!

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Buttler holes out to long-on. He did what he had to but there was always a risk with the field out. England, Andrew Samson relays on TMS, have been bowled out inside a session for the third time in two years. Two hours ago they were 54 without losing a wicket. Wow.

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38th over: England 159-9 (Buttler 37, Anderson 1) BOOM! Buttler doing a real job here, driving the deficit to 171 with a classic T20 slap over extra cover having gotten his front leg out of the way. Six runs! He’s hitting them beautifully, a glorified net as he flays Ishant to various sweepers through the middle portion of the over. Now, once again, we are back to two balls left and again Kohli refuses to bring his field in. Odd for him to care so much about runs at this point when he could get six balls at Anderson. Anyway, we go through the process again: catchers in for the single delivery that Jimmy has to deal with... and he does! Nothing wrong with that forward defence.

37th over: England 152-9 (Buttler 30, Anderson 1) Pandya is replaced after his magnificent spell of 6-1-28-5, Bumrah now taking the ball from our end. Buttler is picking out the fielders but won’t be tempted unless there are two on offer. With two balls left in the over that equation changes slightly but the field remains out. Oi, Virat, that’s not how it works. With two balls to go, you play your part and bring them in, okay? Predicably, then, Jos grabs one down the ground, again leaving Jimmy one ball. It’s short and staight but the no. 11 plays it down with just enough poise. Well done.

“At least my earlier concerns about avoiding the follow on proved quite unfounded,” writes Brian Withington, quite rightly. When England were going nicely before lunch he predicted something just like this.

36th over: England 151-9 (Buttler 29, Anderson 1) Ishant is back to try and find the last. He deserves to finish what he started. Buttler, though, has a lot of experince manipulating fields from white-ball cricket and does so with a carve out to deep point with enough of an angle to get back for two to bring up the England 150. How about that, ay? Back to Jos, he’s nearly done by the yorker that inevitably comes before taking the single to midwicket from the penultimate ball of the over. Anderson has one to see off with four slips and a short leg in position. He’s beaten. That’s too good for Jimmy.

35th over: England 148-9 (Buttler 26, Anderson 1) Clever from Anderson to nab a quick single with the cover fielder napping early in the Pandya over. Buttler’s turn, and he races back for a couple after clipping into the on-side. Will he opt for the single from the last delivery this time around? Yep, another quick one, to midwicket. Anderson is up to the task, racing to the danger end like a 100m sprinter. Tea is due in four minutes but it won’t be taken until the change of innings given they are nine down. A massive session given it was already extended to two and a half hours. We’ll see.

34th over: England 144-9 (Buttler 23, Anderson 0) The follow-on avoided by no more than three inches! Buttler’s leading edge is found by Shami and it juuuuuust makes it over the head of the man at cover. They come back for a couple as the crowd give an enthusiastic ironic cheer. With that out of the way, Jos lofts the next ball over the bowler’s head for four. Lovely strike. Next up he launches him high into the top deck of the grandstand to my left, a huuuuge six! Will he take the single from the last ball? Nup - he’s slogging, through midwicket, for four more! 16 runs from the over to put a dent in what is going to be a hefty deficit. The right call in the circumstances.

“In perhaps the best bowling conditions he might get, Pandya has shown potential,” adds Anand Kumar. “I was, however, hoping for the classic Broad review.” Wait till he has the ball in his hands later this afternoon for a couple of L’Oreals. (He’s worth it)

33rd over: England 128-9 (Buttler 7, Anderson 0) Beaten! Jimmy survives but only because Pandya’s off-cutter has jagged a mile. Remember, England began this session 46-0 and at one stage were 54-0. Undone by some superb fast bowling.

No hat-trick but he gets him three balls later! Full, straight, plum! Pandya has five! England, with Anderson walking out, are still a couple of runs short of the follow-on and he will have one ball to survive this over. Good grief.

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Pandya has four! And he’s on a hat-trick! It comes via another outswinger that finds the edge and the wicketkeeper Pant takes his fifth catch of the session.

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32nd over: England 128-7 (Buttler 7, Rashid 5) Okay, Jos hits his cover drive for four. That’s good batting. Some hope still lives with him. Shami’s bouncer at Rashid later in the over doesn’t give the impression that he’ll be able to resist for long, though. Rapid.

“When the Indian team toured England in 1967, we ten-year-olds collapsed with laughter at the idea that the world’s two shortest books were Great Scottish Goalkeepers and Great Indian Fastbowlers,” emails Graham Whittington from deepest Drance. “One of them, at least, is long out of print.” Too right. They’ve been superb.

The Root dismissal that made bad much worse earlier in the session.

Two in the over! Confirmed by the dreaded spike, Woakes did get something on it. It is Pant’s fourth catch of the session and the second that required an athletic dive down the legside. Wickets bookending the Pandya over with a couple of boundaries between times but that doesn’t matter now: England in enormous strife and still short of the follow-on mark. Wow.

31st over: England 118-7 (Buttler 2)

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