Key events
71st over: India 235-8 (Ashwin 9, Bumrah 0) Another over from Hartley, another single to Ashwin. Bumrah sets off for a single too, but Ashwin sends him back, rightly, as Foakes dashes towards square leg to field. Time for Jimmy, surely.
70th over: India 234-8 (Ashwin 8, Bumrah 0) Another over from Rehan, another single to Ashwin, though this time it comes off the last ball. He tried to slog a four but could only find the fielder at deep midwicket.
India lead by 377. So even if the last two wickets fall right now, England will have to match their highest chase under Ben Stokes – 378 for 3 at Edgbaston in 2022 … against India.
70th over: India 233-8 (Ashwin 7, Bumrah 0) Hartley continues and gives us an instant replay of Rehan’s over. Ashwin takes a single, Stokes brings the catchers in, Bumrah plays and misses. If he was a slightly better batter, he would have been out twice.
69th over: India 232-8 (Ashwin 6, Bumrah 0) Stokes is still changing the field, pulling the strings, running the show. He waits for Ashwin to take a single, then tightens the net around Bumrah – slip, gully, two short legs… It almost works as Bumrah is tentative coming forward and Rehan’s leg-break turns past the outside edge.
68th over: India 231-8 (Ashwin 5, Bumrah 0) Bumrah, facing Hartley again, plays a half-hearted cut and is dropped by Crawley at slip. It went to his left and didn’t look all that hard, but Crawley is only in there as an understudy for Root, who has gone off with an injured finger. And Root tends to stand a yard wider than Crawley, so he might not have been able to reach it.
67th over: India 230-8 (Ashwin 4, Bumrah 0) Rehan beats Bumrah with a lovely ball, a leg-break that was more like an outswinger. India’s last four wickets have gone down for only 19. Are they England in disguise?
66th over: India 229-8 (Ashwin 3, Bumrah 0) In comes Bumrah to face Hartley, his only rival as the leading wicket-taker in the series. Hartley is actually ahead now – 13 to 12 – but Bumrah has a whole innings to add to his tally. And we all know who we’d rather face.
WICKET! Kuldeep c Duckett b Hartley 0 (India 229-8)
Another one! Kuldeep goes for the big heave-ho. The ball sails into the stratosphere, Ben Duckett calls for it and holds on with no bother at all.
65th over: India 228-7 (Ashwin 2, Kuldeep 0) In the last ten overs, India have made 20 for 3.
“I do love a Test in India,” says David Kalucy, “as it gives me something to procrastinate with on a sunny morning in Spain while we set up the bar.” OK, don’t rub it in. “So the question is: can England make 400?” And the answer is: almost certainly not. But you never know.
WICKET! Bharat c Stokes b Rehan 6 (India 228-7)
Rehan drags it down … and Bharat drags it straight to Stokes at midwicket.
Strange but true: on this flat pitch, there have been only three individual fifties. Jaiswal’s 209, Crawley’s 76 and Gill’s 104. Axar’s 45 today, valuable as it was, was the 16th time in the match that a batter had reached double figures without making it to 50. Thirties win matches!
“Loving the optimism,” says Geoff Savage, “of ‘but is it too late’ at 352 behind. That’s why the Stokes/Baz vibe really works. Nothing is impossible. I don’t mind if we lose, as long as we try to win.”
WinViz, for what it’s worth, gives England a 7pc chance. They’ve had worse.
Here’s Kim Thonger, making a very Kim Thonger point. “I think Stokes has to be careful now,” he reckons, “not to polish off the tail too quickly. Setting himself less than 475 in the fourth innings to win seems like shirking a proper challenge. Ideally I’d like to see the target just above 500 to properly focus minds.”
TEA! India still in charge
64th over: India 227-6 (Bharat 6, Ashwin 1) You’re not going to believe this, but a run has come off the bat. Ashwin, facing Hartley, pushes to midwicket for a single. Then Bharat on-drives for four. The floodgates are open!
As the players troop off for tea, India are still right on top even after those two wickets. They made 97 in the session, they lead by 370 and that is surely enough. Time for some toast – which is what India have England on.
63rd over: India 222-6 (Bharat 2, Ashwin 0) Still, that was good bowling from Rehan, who has another maiden.
“Morning Tim,” says Simon McMahon. “I like to play a game of ‘guess the score’ when I wake up to an OBO during an overseas Test, more in hope than expectation. I was hoping this morning for India 150-6, then all out 180, England chasing 330 to win. Instead I find Gill has taken the match away from England in the blink of an eye. I’m reminded of the phrase about how it’s better to be thought an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Ha.
“Even Stokes can’t save this one. Though he’ll think he can, however many England are chasing. That’s why he’s England’s greatest Test captain since Brearley.”
It did too much! Well done Marais Erasmus.
Yet another review as Rehan appeals loudly for LBW against Bharat. It’s the googly, and it looks pretty good to me…
62nd over: India 222-6 (Bharat 2, Ashwin 0) This over from Hartley goes for just two leg-byes, so that’s four maidens in a row. Hartley now has 12 wickets in the series, the same as Jasprit Bumrah. They are separated only by their averages – Hartley’s is a respectable 27, Bumrah’s an unbelievable 9.
61st over: India 220-6 (Bharat 2, Ashwin 0) Rehan keeps Bharat quiet again. You wait ages for a maiden from England’s novice spinners, and then three come at once.
60th over: India 220-6 (Bharat 2, Ashwin 0) So Axar finally goes after playing a good tune on second fiddle, and England have two new batters to go after. But is it too little, too late?
And another triumph for Stokes. When nine out of ten captains would have kept Bashir on, he brought back Hartley, who first beat Axar outside off from over the wicket, then went round. He bowled a ball that straightened and scuttled. It wasn’t given, probably because the umpire felt it pitched outside leg, but Stokes reviewed and he was spot-on.
WICKET! Axar Patel LBW b Hartley 45 (India 220-6)
Another one! And another successful review!
59th over: India 220-5 (Axar 45, Bharat 2) And now we have an actual maiden! Rehan, bowling to the new batter KS Bharat, drops the drag-down, keeps it simple and slips in a nice googly.
58th over: India 220-5 (Axar 45, Bharat 2) Buoyed by the wicket, Bashir bowls an over for just two singles, a rookie’s idea of a maiden. But India’s lead is now 363, which if I remember right is more than even Stokes’s England have ever made in the fourth innings.
57th over: India 218-5 (Axar 44, Bharat 1) Can Rehan keep the pressure on? In a word, no. He dishes up a dreadful drag-down outside leg stump that Axar does well to reach, let alone help on its way for four.
56th over: India 211-5 (Axar 38, Bharat 0) That was a thrill for Bashir but a triumph for Stokes, who had packed the legside field, pushing Gill into playing a shot that doesn’t come naturally to him. “Creating something from nothing,” says Eoin Morgan. “It is a huge, huge skill.”
WICKET! Gill c Foakes b Bashir 104 (India 211-5)
Gill is gone! On review, after missing a reverse sweep. The ball bobbled up off the glove, handing Foakes an easy catch. It wasn’t given, but Stokes reviewed and England have a vital scalp. But is it too late?
55th over: India 209-4 (Gill 102, Axar 38) Rehan starts well, bowling to the left-handed Axar, landing the ball on the spot. With the fifth delivery, he might have a catch at bat-pad, if there was anyone at short leg. With the sixth, he nearly has Axar caught at short mid-on as a big heave skims the tips of Stokes’s fingers. But it goes for four and India lead by 352.
54th over: India 205-4 (Gill 102, Axar 34) England are in a deep, deep hole. Bashir manages to turn one ball past Gill’s left pad in this over, but he and Hartley haven’t bowled a maiden between them in 30 overs. And Root is off the field, so that just leaves Ben Stokes with two cards in his hand – a very old bowler (you know who that is) and a very young one, Rehan, who’s coming on now.
53rd over: India 203-4 (Gill 101, Axar 33) Just a single and a no-ball off Hartley’s over as everyone takes in what Gill has done. He has played the innings Virat Kohli would have played if he’d been here.
52nd over: India 201-4 (Gill 100, Axar 33) Thanks Tanya and morning everyone. Gill tucked Bashir for two, then clipped him for a single and celebrated his third hundred in Tests as if he is already eyeing his second one in this innings.
A hundred for Shubman Gill!
With no fuss at all.
51st over: India 198-4 (Gill 97, Axar 33) Axar tucks into a short one from Hartley, a cream puff on a Monday morning, chomping it to the rope. A couple of singles and that is DRINKS. With the lead 341, and Gill in sight of his hundred, Tim de Lisle will take you through to stumps.
50th over: India 192-4 (Gill 96, Axar 28) Gill gets fed up with prodding around, sweeping Bashir for four. One shot away from three figures.
49th over: India 186-4 (Gill 90, Axar 28) Another couple knocked onto the total. KP still talking, so much talking!, on comms. I can imagine both how he was so good with the younger England players, reads the game really well, full of ideas and enthusiasm, and irked the older players, ie, never shut up with his theories.
48th over: India 184-4 (Gill 89, Axar 27) A dabbed single. This is the calm before the storm.
47th over: India 183-4 (Gill 89, Axar 25) Just one off Hartley.
“Greetings from Chennai!” Hello stranger.
”You had expressed curiosity about Shreyas Iyer being referred to by his full name. I can’t give you a satisfactory answer on that — I have certainly heard him called simply Shreyas on comms before — but I can provide some background.
”There are primarily three types of name used in India, differing based on the region, community and religion.
”Firstly you have Western-style name + family name, as with Virat Kohli or Cheteshwar Pujara. Though many of these are rather clan than family names, there is no issue referring to these people by their surnames as with English names.
”Secondly you have people like Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Mukesh Kumar. Their surnames are much more generic, tied to a community, caste or region than to a family, and thus there has been a shift away from using just those names (eg. “Mr Sharma”) in English coverage in recent years, in favour of using the full name or just the given name. In any case Indian languages have always used given names for such people.
”Thirdly you have people like Ravichandran Ashwin or Washington Sundar who have no surnames as such. They just use their own given name (Ashwin and Washington respectively) plus their fathers’ given name, which can be in any order. This is normal in southern India and the father’s name is usually abbreviated to an initial (eg. “R. Ashwin”). In this case the only correct way is to use the given name. If you refer to Ashwin as “Ravichandran” or Washington as “Sundar”, you are actually referring to their fathers!
”Indeed, if Shreyas Santosh Iyer had been born in Tamil Nadu or Kerala (where the Iyer community originates), he would most likely have been called Shreyas Santosh, as the practice of using community/caste surnames has fallen out of favour there.”
Thank you! That has answered lots of questions (and provoked more!).
46th over: India 182-4 (Gill 89, Axar 25) My husband pollutes the room with marmalade on toast, Bashir throws in some variety, India collect a couple of singles and the fifth wicket partnership stretches to 60.
45th over: India 180-4 (Gill 88, Axar 24) Tom Hartley for the first time since lunch. Axar eyes up his first ball, a half volley, and slots him away past mid-off for four to roars of approval from the crowd. More single milking.
44th over: India 174-4 (Gill 87, Axar 19) Bashir, tall and lean. A couple of easy singles dabbed away into the gaps.
43rd over: India 172-4 (Gill 85, Axar 18) Six singles, as Rehan bounces in, and the Indian lead stretches to 315.
42nd over: India 166-4 (Gill 83, Axar 14) Anderson off, Bashir on. Just a single from it.
41st over: India 165-4 (Gill 83, Axar 14) Gill wakes up the crowd with three successive boundaries off Rehan. Six gloriously down the pitch, a swept four, which nearly takes a ball girl out in the process, and a sublime on drive, back foot raised a little in princely attitude.
40th over: India 151-4 (Gill 69, Axar 10) The 150 comes up with a wristy drive through the covers from Axar; Anderson springs back immediately with a beauty that slips just past the outside edge.
39th over: India 147-4 (Gill 69, Axar 10) Round the wicket from Rehan, sensible accumulation.
38th over: India 145-4 (Gill 68, Axar 9) Just a single off Anderson as the action creaks into action. Not as much threat in that over as those early ones in the first session.
Morning Tanya and Tim! Hello Am Wayward!
”DK’s point about hearing Harsha’s voice after that Bumrah dismissal is spot on! All I thought of was a bit of a shame there wasn’t a Ravi and more vociferous/impactful a commentator for that delivery. Also. Game On!” Too right.
And news from Colombo:
Joe Root off the field, little finger in ice.
37th over: India 144-4 (Gill 66, Axar 9) Five easy singles off Rehan Ahmed.
Ah, news from the England camp: “Joe Root sustained an external blow to his right little finger, attempting a slip catch in the first session of day three. The England medical team will keep him off the field for the time being to treat and ice. At this stage, there is no indication of when he will return to the field.”
36th over: India 139-4 (Gill 64, Axar 7) To no-one’s surprise, Anderson takes the ball after lunch, though at at a different end from previously. The first ball is a post-prandial pudding, and Gill gratefully takes two runs. A leg bye, then Axar leans way onto the back foot and clops him for four. Nine from the over.
And no, ignore what I said about Root, Dan Lawrence is on the field for him. The cameras have found some footage from practise this morning when Root was also hit on the same finger.
They’re back, with a sprightly looking Joe Root in tow.
Just to catch up elsewhere, at the Bay Oval, Rachin Ravindra has just made his maiden Test century, and Kane Williamson his 30th.
Kane Williamson has completed a 30th test cricket century in front of home fans at Bay Oval, pulling a ball matter-of-factly to the boundary. A standing ovation ensues as he passes Don Bradman’s 29. He joins Matthew Hayden, Joe Root and Shivnarine Chanderpaul on the mark. #NZvSA
— Andrew Alderson (@aldersonnotes) February 4, 2024
Lunch – India 130-4, lead by 273 runs
35th over: India 130-4 (Gill 60, Axar 2) Rehan nearly breaks through with the very last ball before lunch, a googly that almost squeezes past Axar’s bat. The players stride in for lunch. England’s session, what belief! with Shubman Gill belying his early troubles to play a princely innings. Time for coffee, back shortly
34th over: India 129-4 (Gill 59, Axar 2) Jimmy waves the field into submission, as Rahul Dravid scribbles furious notes on a piece of paper in the dugout. Gill pushes slightly waftily into the covers off the first ball, picks up a couple down towards square leg, and then takes a single to leave Axar Patel to cover the last two balls. Which he does.
33rd over: India 126-4 (Gill 56, Axar 2) Another maiden for Rehan. And it looks as if Jimmy is coming back.
Hello again Martin Wright. “Just googled the highest successful fourth innings run chase in India. It’s 387. Bazball dictates that Stokesy will reckon anything less than double that is doable…” Ain’t that the truth.
32nd over: India 126-4 (Gill 56, Axar 2) Four singles off Hartley. On the boundary edge, Jimmy is warming up. Time for a two over blast before lunch?
31st over: India 122-4 (Gill 54) Such a super catch, Foakes standing so close to the stumps, with no reaction time, and watches and lets the ball fall into the gloves as Patidar edges. Had earlier in the over cut Rehan for four.
WICKET! Patidar c Foakes b Rehan Ahmed (India 122-4)
Bang bang! Patidar gets a feather of an inside edge and Foakes watches it into his gloves. Rehan collects him for the second time in the match.
30th over: India 118-3 (Gill 54, Patidar 5) Hartley, shirt untucked, wheels away. England will be happy to have got rid of Shreyas, who was just getting into his stride.
29th over: India 117-3 (Gill 54, Patidar 4) Just one from Rehan’s over. Twenty minutes or so left till lunch.
