Ruthless England put finishing touches to near-perfect Test performance

NICK FRIEND AT HEADINGLEY: There were calculations of the worst possible scenario. What if India did it again, repeating their Lord’s trick? After all, this is Headingley. And strange things have happened here. England need not have worried...

Headingley (fourth day of five): India 78 & 278, England 432 - England win by an innings and 76 runs

Scorecard

Strolling into Headingley this morning, it felt as ideal a day as any to be 139 runs behind with eight wickets in hand.

For the first time in this Test, the skies were clear when play got underway. Cheteshwar Pujara had batted through Friday like a man determined to repeat the trick on Saturday. Virat Kohli went to bed unbeaten on his highest score of the series and woke up to the kind of mission for which he lives and breathes.

But England had a new ball up their sleeve and a bowling attack fresher than when they dragged themselves from the field yesterday evening in worsening light, no longer of mind to continue with two off-spinners in tandem on a placid surface.

Pujara was approaching a first Test century since January 2019; Kohli was having a net, helping himself to the first free runs afforded to him during a trip through which England have so far kept the touring captain muzzled.

There were cautious predictions and calculations of the worst possible scenario. What if India did it again, repeating their Lord’s trick but to a far greater extreme? After all, this is Headingley. And strange things have happened here.

We have seen the wheels come off before; only 12 days ago, England were marginal favourites to take a series lead, but then became so obsessed with bouncing out India’s tail amid a mini-spat between the teams that they ended up with fielders at fly slip and deep point against a man whose batting average was just 2.26 before landing in the United Kingdom. It ended in tears, with Joe Root and Chris Silverwood fronting up in the days afterwards to hold their hands up to a plan gone awry, where emotion had outmuscled their better, pragmatic judgement.

With all that in mind, England’s reaction has been quite special, just as India’s display – barring 80 overs of fine resilience on the third day – was fairly mediocre. The hosts were on the ropes four days ago, repeatedly altering their resources in desperate search of a winning formula, drafting in players not even included in a 17-man squad originally drawn up for the first two Test of this series and attempting to find a way back into this series without several first-choice names.

^{Craig Overton claimed six wickets on his Test return}

A week is a long time, though; the joke on Friday afternoon was that Pujara had come to the crease when Cristiano Ronaldo was supposedly heading to Manchester City but had re-joined Manchester United by the time he left the field undefeated on 91. But for the sixth time in his career – an equal high with Jacques Kallis and Chris Cairns – he fell the next morning without adding to his score. It was the kind of curious dismissal that has typified his recent struggles but also the type that appeared to be absent in a rearguard yesterday that featured all the certainty of his pomp.

Ollie Robinson’s inswinger is a terrific weapon and moves in the air to a prodigious degree, so much so that two lbw appeals awarded in his favour were overturned in this innings against KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami. Both looked plumb in real time. Pujara was fooled, padding up to a ball that began wide of off-stump but thudded into his shin. He was reprieved by the on-field decision but not on review. And once the wall had fallen and the fort had been breached, England made hay.

They hadn’t bowled badly on the previous afternoon but simply weren’t rewarded as they had been on the first morning – or indeed on the fourth. Kohli thought he had edged behind but was brilliantly advised by his vice-captain, Ajinkya Rahane, to send the decision upstairs. As it turned out, his bat had clipped his pad. It was a spectacularly good piece of modern cricket from Rahane, who was perceptive enough to play the auxiliary role that the review system has created for the non-striker.

It summed up India’s week, though, that Kohli couldn’t exploit that slice of good fortune. Robinson enticed him to poke to slip and England celebrated like a team that knew they were well on their way.

The game only lasted another 57 deliveries – and only 19.3 overs were bowled today in total: Rahane was undone by James Anderson in the next over and Rishabh Pant – who is one position too high in these conditions – in the over after that. Shami – also at least a position too high in these, or any, conditions – survived two strong lbw appeals in a defiance that lasted just eight balls. He was cleaned up by a lovely delivery from Moeen Ali, before the rest of India’s bowlers subsided one after another.

A fair bit has happened already in Robinson’s career – and Headingley was briefly, infamously, his home ground, so this haul felt even more special – but one thing for certain is that he has the tools to make a significant fist of the international game in the years to come. England are due in Australia this winter, where he has previously performed well on a Lions tour and in grade cricket.

^{India's tail offered very little resistance on the fourth morning}

Unlike many seamers from these parts, he is as confident with the Kookaburra as the Dukes and, given an ever-lengthening injury list, might just arrive Down Under as the most important bowler in the travelling party.

He took 4 for 25 in eight overs in a tremendous, game-ending burst, having already accounted for Rohit Sharma. Although Anderson was too wide to begin with, England started with three maidens and Robinson located his sixpence immediately, well aware that the direction of travel in a Test England had dominated from the outset might just depend on their use of the new ball.

Twenty minutes before lunch, he was leading his team off the field in the August sunshine – a stump in his left hand, five Indian wickets taken with his right.