CHENNAI: At 10:30 in Leeds on Wednesday morning, the toss of the coin fell favourably for Virat Kohli for a change. It was only the second time in 12 Tests that the Indian skipper had won a toss against England counterpart Joe Root. Having finally done so, Kohli chose to bat first, no doubt hoping to cash in with a big first-innings score. Given what transpired over the next four hours at Headingley — India were startlingly bundled out for a score of 78 just a little more than an hour after lunch — he may be left to rue his decision. There was insult to injury for India in the final session as England raced into a first-innings lead without losing a single wicket.
It is instructive to note that Root had not been too disappointed with the outcome of the toss. A tacky pitch and cloudy skies, the local lad felt, could be exploited by his bowlers.
It is exactly what the inimitable James Anderson went on to do in the opening session, taking out KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli within the first 11 overs in a typically exemplary display of swing and seam bowling. While Anderson had taken wickets in the first two Tests, scalps with the new ball had been strangely eluding him. He made up for it here. The wily 39-year-old, whose advancing years don't seem to be catching up with him, produced an opening spell that read 8-5-6-3 to break the back of the Indian top-order. On Wednesday, a noticeable feature of his new-ball spell was his willingness to use the inswinger more often than he usually does. It reaped rewards as he had Rahul caught behind for 0 in the very first over. He then set up Pujara with some inswingers before going wide of the crease and taking the ball away to draw the No 3’s outside edge. The angle meant that Pujara was lulled into playing a ball that he should have ideally left alone.
The highlight of the opening session for the hosts was the big scalp of Kohli not long after. He might have expected plenty of chatter once he came to the crease after the frayed tempers in the previous Test, but there was nothing of the sort from the England fielders. He didn’t last long enough perhaps to really get on the nerves of the Englishmen. It was Anderson who removed Kohli for the seventh time in Tests, getting the ball to straighten off the seam and forcing the Indian captain to commit to his stroke with a very full delivery.
All this while, Rohit Sharma was a quiet spectator from the other end. His judgment outside off-stump was excellent once again and he was able to survive 75 balls to bat through to lunch on an unbeaten 15. He would have been hoping for Ajinkya Rahane to keep him company, but the fellow Mumbaikar fell at the stroke of lunch. Another outside edge, another regulation catch for Jos Buttler behind the stumps. 56 for 4 became 58 for 5 minutes after the lunch interval as Rishabh Pant, too, played away from his body and offered a simple chance for Buttler to latch onto.
Rohit had exhibited great restraint to face 105 balls and score just 19 runs, before a tame dismissal cut short his admirable resistance. Having been caught in the deep while pulling the short ball twice in this series, he was out to a short delivery yet again. This time, though, he miscued his pull and the ball lobbed softly into the hands of the mid-on fielder.
Once Rohit was gone, things unraveled very quickly as India lost four wickets without adding a run on the board. If they are seeking some inspiration, they can perhaps rewind to the last Test at this venue two years ago. England were bowled out for 67 in their first innings but bounced back to win by chasing down 359 in the final innings.