Key events
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.
28th over: India 116-3 (Gill 54, Patidar 3) Just as India were starting to run away with it, a breakthrough from nowhere. Truly an alpha catch on the sprint, and now Patidar must start from scratch, with the ball nearly 30 overs old. Anderson is back on the field, and reports are that Root will be soon too.
WICKET! Shreyas c Stokes b Hartley 29 (India 111-3)
Astonishing catch by Stokes sprinting at full pelt and catching with both hands on the dive, as Shreyas attempts to go over the top.
Fifty for Shubman Gill!
27th over: India 111-2 (Shreyas 29, Gill 52) Successive fours, down the ground, through the covers, brings Gill his fifty. He allows himself a modest smile, but little else. He’s really worked hard after the early working over.
26th over: India 103-2 (Shreyas 29, Gill 44) KP is satisfied, the field has been tightened. Gill tucks into a full toss from Hartley and sweeps it for four as the lead stretches to 245 – the highest England have ever made in a fourth innings in India is 241, though Stokes’s side has made those kind of figures almost irrelevant.
25th over: India 96-2 (Shreyas 29, Gill 37) Better from Rehan, a maiden. And Ali points out this fab looking picture from Andy Brown, who is painting the whole series.
24th over: India 96-2 (Shreyas 29, Gill 37) Oh, to die for, as Shreyas wristily drives Hartley through midwicket for four. Then a gentle pushed single past the bowler, on comms KP is not happy – the singles are coming too easily, he says.
23rd over: India 91-2 (Shreyas 24, Gill 37). Time for Rehan Ahmed. Drops a dot short and Gill has no mercy, going back to cuts him twice to the rope.
22nd over: India 82-2 (Shreyas 23, Gill 29) Dan Lawrence is on the field for Root, who has gone off again after clipping the top of his right hand trying to stop that edge off Gill at slip. Three tinkered off Hartley.
21st over: India 79-2 (Shreyas 20, Gill 29) We resume, and India knock four lazy-days singles off Bashir. The large gold studs in Shreyas’ ears shine in the sun like glistening full stops. A quick question, can anyone tell me why the Indian commentators always refer to Shreyas by his full name, eg Shreyas Iyer, and if he should always be referred to like that rather than Shreyas?
“Morning Tanya!” Hello Martin Wright! “Hope you and the dog both well. You do have a dog, don’t you, or is that just my fevered imagination? I vaguely remember dirty stop-outs, but they were back in the days of the Old Queen. It’s a lovely sunny morning here in Tamil Nadu, and I’m about to make a humongous quantity of dal, while trying to stop my turmeric-stained fingers from clutching at little straws of hope….” Oh how delicious that sounds. And yes, dog is snoring gently next to me.
20th over: India 75-2 (Shreyas 18, Gill 27) A first boundary for Shreyas Iyer as Hartley drifts leg side and he glances stylishly, beating a chasing Bashir down to the rope. And now DRINKS, with Gill and Shreyas grateful to have survived the onslaught.
19th over: India 69-2 (Shreyas 13, Gill 26) Bashir, flannel flapping out of his trouser elastic, wheels in. Three singles without too much effort.
18th over: India 66-2 (Shreyas 11, Gill 25) Ooof, Gill survives by a whisker again, as he pushes at one from Hartley that bounces and spits and the ball flies past a diving Root at slip. The next ball he glances off his boots for four.
17th over: India 57-2 (Shreyas 10, Gill 17) Gill pings Bashir’s last ball straight and for six to take the Indian lead to 200.
16th over: India 48-2 (Shreyas 8, Gill 10) Hartley. Both batters in caps now, Gill’s more baseball shaped, Shreyas’ flatter. They pick up a couple and with Anderson’s temporary retirement, the pressure starts to ease.
15th over: India 46-2 (Shreyas 7, Gill 9) Anderson rests his mucles after four overs, one for six, and it’s time for Bashir. A stifled lbw shout first ball, then Shreyas actually moves out of his crease to drive down the pitch for a single.
14th over: India 42-2 (Shreyas 6, Gill 6) Before play, Finn, or was it Cook, was saying how Stokes could used Hartley to block up one end, and he’s settled in nicely here, though a less jittery India might have tucked into the odd half volley.
13th over: India 40-2 (Shreyas 5, Gill 5) India poking about like children with sticks outside a tiger’s cage. Anderson again. Shreyas picks up a couple with a slice, Gill edges just short of Joe Root at slip, who bangs the end of his fingers trying to stop the ball.
12th over: India 36-2 (Shreyas 2, Gill 4) Hartley, tall, long fingered, whisks through an over. Shreyas tentatively prods backwards and forwards to cover him.
Brian Withington wants to se the record straight. “Can I just place myself in the insomniac rather than dirty stop out brigade; laced with a soupçon of hope struggling gamely in a dark sea of experience.” To be clear that was sent at 358am, when hope was bubbling less enthusiastically.
11th over: India 35-2 (Shreyas 1, Gill 4) KP spends the over from Anderson saying how unconvincing Gill looks. An lbw appeal off the penultimate ball, umpires says no, England like it, it hits high on the thrusting front pad… ooof, umpire’s call. Gill survives, just. He’s either about to have his stumps splattered or he’ll make 175.
Finbar Anslow writes “Hi Tanya? Just woken up in hospital! Laid low by a vicious bout of Ghastlyinteritus. I’m sharing a room with 3 old guys, oh, wait, one of them is me.
Big thank you to the Italian health service, especially Tortona A & E, as they had me admitted, examined and put on pain killers on less than half an hour! Btw, how’s the cricket going?
Nothing to see here Finbar, you rest your eyes. And all best wishes to get well soon from the OBO.
REVIEW! Not out
10th over: India 34-2 (Shreyas 0, Gill 4) Hartley replaces Root and immediate danger as Gill pulls upishly to the rope and then survives being given out lbw on the field. The review shows a sniff of an edge onto the pad. Gill looks as surprised as anyone.
9th over: India 30-2 (Shreyas 0, Gill 0) Just what Ben Stokes ordered, just what Jimmy Anderson delivered. The wobble seam, and the catch scooped stylishly off the ground. Interestingly, this Test has given us 11 wickets each from spin and pace but the pace wickets have come in 51 overs at an average of 57, and the spin wickets in 125 overs at an average of 11.
WICKET! Jaiswal c Root b Anderson (India 30-2)
Number 695! Jaiswal drives, Root collects at first slip. In the dressing room Rahul Dravid stands up and walks away.
8th over: India 30-1 (Jaiswal 17, Gill 0) Jaiswal drives but picks out the lone man on the boundary, Rehan Ahmed. Root runs into Jaiswal fielding off the final ball, and falls over, and they share a laugh.
7th over: India 29-1 (Jaiswal 16, Gill 0) At the other end, Jimmy Anderson spoils the party for the fans chanting Rohit, Rohit outside. Vuvuzelas blow forlornly. Superb stuff.
WICKET! Rohit b Anderson 13 (India 29-1)
Stumps a go-go! Anderson darts one out, Rohit plays down the wrong line and Anderson nips the top of off stump.
6th over: India 28-0 (Jaiswal 15, Rohit 13) Slip, leg slip, Ben Stokes sets his field as if England are 170 ahead not behind. Pressure, pressure, pressure. A maiden.
Our man at the ground, Ali Martin, reports that it is chaos outside the stadium and the signs say sold out. If you’re in the queue, do send us your report from masses. Right, the players are out, and here comes Joe Root.
Steven Finn in the studio is singing the praises of Brendan Mccullum “I played with them under Middlesex and he [was amazing] and its no coincidence that success has followed him around.”
Tea in hand, I’m starting to feel a bit more alive.
Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Kartik are out in the middle looking at the pitch. “The cracks are starting to open up,” says DK. “India will be very aware that England are very good at chasing in the fourth innings.”
Time for a quick cup of tea, Ill be back in five.
Preamble
Hello insomniacs and dirty stop outs, peoples of many and differing time zones. Thank you for logging on. Over in Visakhapatnam, England are about to start the grind of trying to bowl out India for the second time, all while computing the business of being well and truly Bumrah’ed yesterday afternoon, done like a kipper by the yorker king with the beguiling smile.
A lead of 143 at the end of England’s innings had grown by 28 by stumps as Rohit and young double centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal had a jolly old hit in the nip of an evening session. Ali Martin is there, and he didn’t sound overwhelmingly confident of England’s chances, but judge for yourself in his excellent match report
But this England relish bad odds, so get comfortable there on the sofa, the benches of Visakhapatnam, or wherever you find yourself and turn on, tune in and definitely don’t drop out. This could be a cracker.