England defeated India by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test at Headingley in leeds to equal 1-1. Leaving the Indian team’s batting line-up dismantled, England produced an outstanding spell of its bowling, taking eight wickets in the session on day 4 to bowl out for 278 in the second innings and win the match by an innings and 76 runs.
It was a match that England won by executing its excellent strategies to perfection, keeping in mind the weaknesses of its oppositions.
The Series
India had lost the match on its first day when all the stumps surfaced for 78 runs, as they played a “catching up” game throughout the game.
Virat Kohli said that the team witnessed a high-quality bowling match from the opponent team, which forced the lined-up batsmen to commit mistakes.
The Indian team Skipper added, “It’s quite bizarre; it can happen in this country, batting collapses. We thought that the pitch was good to bat on, coming on nicely. But the discipline forced mistakes, and the pressure was relentless. Difficult to cope when you are not scoring runs. That caused the batting order to crumble.”
A lead of 354 runs in the first innings by England added to the Indian team’s tension, which required three days of battling to save the game in favor.
Kohli called the game a “scoreboard pressure”. Virat also said that they did well to stay in the game, fight back as much as possible, and give themselves a chance.
But the pressure was incredible from England bowlers and gradually moved towards the result that they expected. It was difficult to bat for three days in conditions that changed quickly, making batting difficult.
As the bowl made its way into the hands of slip fielders or gloves of wicketkeeper, India lost eight wickets, adding only 63 runs to the scoreboard and a morning collapse in Adelaide once again.
There was still a hope of fight from the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli clipped Anderson for two boundaries on his route to his first half-century in the series.
A decisive tilt in the game by Robinson, with a pitched-up delivery as Kohli, jabbed at it, and for the 5th time in a row, it turned the tables for the skipper as the wicketkeeper or the slip cordon gobbled him up.
Indian test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane got a couple of boundaries. Still, it was another dismissal as Anderson got one straight from the length, taking an outside edge into Buttler’s gloves.
Pant lasted for merely seven balls as Craig Overton, at third slip, took a regulating catch, a replica of his first test innings dismissal. From 215/2 to 239/6, Jadeja added some more runs before Craig Overton shattered India’s dream to pieces as India lost the game.
