India were able to turn the momentum of the IND vs ENG 3rd Test match in their favor on Day 3 and showed a brilliant performance with bat and ball. England opener Ben Duckett had shown ‘bazball’ on day 2 and smashed a hundred attackers. Duckett had shifted the match’s momentum in England’s favor after the end of Day 2 and helped his team reach 207/2, in response to a first innings total of 445 runs.
However the The bowlers showed a brilliant comeback in the match and concluded England for 319 runs on Day 3 in his first innings. The Three Lions faced a brutal batting collapse, with each batsman falling cheaply against the Indian bowlers, including Ben Duckett. In response, the hosts showed an aggressive batting approach and ended the day’s play at 196/2.
Former England player Graeme Swann, while speaking to broadcasters, praised India’s batting approach on Day 3 of the Rajkot Test. Swann believes India is playing more of a wallball in response to England’s bazball. ‘Wall’ is the nickname of Indian head coach and former captain Rahul Dravid, while England head coach Brendon McCullum is known as ‘baz’.
Graeme Swann praises India’s batting tactics
Graeme Swann said: “They are playing their own version of Bazball, they are playing Wallball,” Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal anchored India’s brilliant batting on Day 3 and smashed his second century of the series. Jaiswal already reached double hundred in the second match and played 209 innings. Jaiswal retired injured for 104 runs but also added 155 runs along with Shubman Gill for the second wicket.
Wallball anyone? 😁 pic.twitter.com/Go4LAD630l
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 17, 2024
Shubman Gill also provided brilliant support to Yashasvi Jaiswal from the other end and scored a brilliant half-century. These were a welcome fifty for Gill as he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings. He was unbeaten on 65 runs off 120 balls and will now want to convert his half-century into a big hundred.
Before India’s strong batting display, over the course of eighteen runs, India were able to beat England early on Day 3. The hosts managed to remove wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow and overnight batsman Joe Root. Kuldeep Yadav got rid of Bairstow for a duck, while Jasprit Bumrah got rid of Root. Despite Ben Stokes’ spectacular 41 runs off 89 balls, no other England batsman could hold the crease for long and was dismissed cheaply.
Although batting has not been a major problem for India in the series so far, they have felt the absence of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli on many occasions. India were in a winning position during the first Test match, but they were unable to chase 230 odd runs in the second innings due to a glitch in the batting order.
The Indian middle-order has not fired in the series so far, where inexperience is the main reason behind the problem. Shreyas Iyer and KS Bharat’s form was also an issue, however, they were dropped from the playing XI in the third Test match. Also, players like Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel showed a decent display of cricket in their debut Test.
