India England Test series

Well we know the pitch is playable because India have got the runs. Not getting a good first innings score is always going to mean an uphill battle! Joe's had an awful time with the bat this tour , usually he performs so well in India!

 

Not great losing a review there Stokes, 6 wickets down now!

 

50 /7, we'll not make it to the final day!

 

Let’s put this last innings farce behind us and be positive for the last two tests.
We’ve shown that we can beat them if we win the toss so rock on the fourth match.
Root and Bairstow are going through a bad patch but they are still world class if in form

 

We've been well.and truly beaten so far this series. The only close match was the one we won. And they're not even had Pant or Kholi to get them runs!

 

They’ve been let off cos Harry Brook would have destroyed them

 

Harry Brook needs to ditch bashing em' and go back to the style that got him in the side. Been poor himself since the New Zealand series. Pretty 40's and 50's aren't good enough.

 

He did alright in the Ashes with 4 out of 9 innings being half centuries but, as you say, we expect so much more of him because … he’s class basically
He’s never going to be a prolific scorer when coming in at 5 although an average of 60 will suffice

 

He's so much better. He's a Bradman if he gets his head down.

 

India are class and missing numerous players as well. But we still shouldn't be getting thrashed and embarrassed.

 

I was trying to not be negative…
1-2 down doesn’t sound as if we have been getting thrashed and embarrassed

 

No need to be negative, you’re quite right. We haven’t. Yes this test was horrid but in the first 2 we’ve been very competitive against an excellent side on their own patch, in conditions we hardly ever get to play in.

Maybe a good side is coming up a bit short against a very, very good side. It’s sport, it happens.

 

We always get hammered in India. We have been a very good match for them until day 3 of the 3rd test, when they finally asserted their dominance. It was bound to happen that one test would unravel because they’re a seriously good team in home conditions.

I honestly don’t think we lost that game due to Bazball. Bazball got us to 200/2, but if you watch the rest of the second innings it wasn’t particularly reckless (Root excepted). I don’t know what Bairstow was doing but it certainly wasn’t Bazball. Duckett and Stokes batted very sensibly after the 2 quick wickets to see Bumrah off. India bowled really well and we weren’t up to the task. The wickets in isolation look very different to the play as a whole.

The big test for me will be how we respond on Friday. They’ve spent 2 years building their confidence and I hope that it doesn’t come crashing down after 2 bad days. Winning the toss would help a lot!

 

Groundsmen doing a very good job as well !

 

I don't really see what the toss has to do with it, we could have scored 400+ in our first innngs given they managed to almost score 400 on both theirs.

 

Cook reckons that it’s a 250 run wicket as it’s already spinning.
It’s therefore going to be all over within 3 days…. not good but fortunately they bat last !

 

Hope he's wrong, doesn't make for much of a test match! After a great start we're getting battered!

 

Not much batting left!

 

I think chop flies out to India next week and is to watch some of the last test.
Hope he’s due to go on first few days

 

Indeed.