England 569/7 declared (IR Bell 167, GS Balance 156, A N Cook 95, JC Butler 85, B Kumar 3/101, RA Jadeja 2/153) and 205 /4 declared ( AN Cook 70* ,JR Root 56 ,RA Jadeja 3/56) Beat India 330  All out ( AM  Rahane 54 , MS Dhoni 50,V Kohli 39 ,M Vijay 35,J M Anderson 5/53,SCJ Broad 3/56 , M Ali 2/62 ) and 178 all out ( AM Rahane 52 ,S Dhawan 37, MM Ali 6/ 57,JM Anderson 2/24)  by 266 runs.

Played at Southampton, England.

Man of the Match: JM Anderson.

England like a wound lion after losing the Lords test bounced back and punished and humbled pathetic looking Indian side to a massive 266 runs defeat.  The third test at Southampton left behind huge issues for Indian soul searching while England could take lot of inspiration from the test.

England and India were both ICC top ranked test team in not too distant past after Australia’s long reign was over. But both failed to hold on to it longer. The ongoing four test series is very important for both as they are in the rebuilding process with several new players are just finding their feet. After the drawn fist test India turned the table on the host in the second test at Lords where B Kumar and I Sharma bowled brilliantly and Rahane and Vijay batted splendidly bringing sweet Indian victory overseas after a long time and win at Lords after 28 long years. But shell shocked England bounced back with vengeance and destroyed pathetic Dhoni squad with an all-round clinical performance beating them by a huge margin of 266 runs. After three of the five tests already done and dusted the result shows 1-1. The fourth test starts at Manchester on 7th August. The manner in which India lost it seems improbable that India may come back in the series as English lion getting the taste of blood will tease and torment Indians exploiting their weaknesses.

England with this win ended their 10 test win draught since August 2013. They were so clinical that India failed to win any session of the four days. What England scored losing 11 wickets in two innings, India could score 266 less losing all 20 wickets. The way the match progressed it appeared even if India would have been given another innings to bat they could win. It was a perfect test win for England when out of form top order batsmen Cook and Bell roared back into form scoring heavily, Young guns Balance and Root started growing from strength to strength, Moeen Ali bowled superbly in both Innings. Anderson probably waiting suspension for his antics with Jadeja possibly did his job for the last time in the series with his bounce and swing. 

Judging from the performance of the teams it may appear that they played in two different pitches. True Indians are not used to playing in juicy pitches favoring seam and swing. But their bowlers who bowled so well in Lords test looked like novice as English batsmen massacred the wayward listless bowling. Ishant was not available. Pankaj Kumar coming in his place had a nightmare test debut. Only B Kumar looked impressive. But in test matches you have to have at four bowlers bowling to a plan. Pankaj not firing and Jadeja looking ordinary India were two bowlers short. This allowed Cook to get back his touch. So did Bell. Balance is looking a player for long carrier already. When three of the top four batsmen have scores 95, 156 & 167 one can imagine the quality of the bowling of the opposition. India lost the initiative and could never crawl back. Butler made a dream debut scoring 85 as England declared their first Innings at 569/7.

When India came to bat it appeared that Indian batsmen batted on a different wicket. Anderson and Broad bowling on the off stump channel and swinging in either direction not only kept the Indian batsmen honest but constantly teased and tormented them in the corridor of uncertainty. There were so many paly and misses. S Dhawan and Pujara looked completely out of shorts. Vijay appeared to be battling out but Kohli was not at all at his fluent self. Anderson and Broad reduced India to 6/217 creating panic in Indian camp. Only Rahane was carrying his good form and Dhoni played an innings of some substance. India got bowled out for 330 still 239 in arrears. Anderson took 5/53 and Broad grabbed 3/66. Cook thought it wise not to enforce follow on taking a calculated gamble against weather interfering. 

In the second innings also Indian bowlers failed to impress and England build on the lead very comfortably declaring again at 4/205 at almost 5 runs per over. Cook again batted well for his 70 and Root scored 56. The greatest frustration for Dhoni and India was the poor bowling of lone Indian specialist spinner Jadeja. Wicket was turning yet he could not exploit though he got three of the four English wickets to fall yet he was not penetrative. England declared second time in the test setting an unassailable target of 444 in the fourth innings on a wearing wicket.

Indian attempt got an early blow when Vijay ran himself out .Flashy Dhawan did not seem secured and Pujara again failed. The most dependable Indian batsman Virat Kohli once again failed to convert his start. India was tottering at 89/4 with Moeen Ali getting appreciable assistance from the wicket. On the fourth morning Anderson struck two early blows removing Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni taking the wind out of Indian sail. Talented Rahani kept ploughing in the sand with no one able to provide any support. India failed to confront Moeen Ali spin and was bundled out for 178.Moeen grabbed the last 4 wickets and had an innings figure of 6/ 67. Indian embraced a massive defeat by 266 runs.  Anderson for his consistent pace and reverse swing created a sense of insecurity for the Indian batsmen exposing their lack of technique against moving balls. India must reassess their strategy and regroup now before they appear in the fourth test in less than a weeks’ time. Batting looks in disarray and blowing looks thinner. Lucking for them their tormentor James Anderson may miss the remaining two tests. It is not sure whether Ishant will be fit again to play. Pankaj looked ordinary. Sami is also not delivering. Only Bhubaneswar bowled well. But he needs support. But the main headache is Jadeja. He has become predictable. India cannot also afford to go with five specialist bowlers as that will make batting thinner. Its time Bhirat play long innings or otherwise India will struggle to save the series.

For England this Southampton Test was pleasing in many aspects. The batting of Cook and Bell were under radar for a while. Both of them got back into gear. Ballance and Root continued. Butler has a dream debut with both bat and wicket keeping. Moeen Ali is showing promise as a useful all-rounder. England possibly has sensed a turn around. We won’t be surprised if England goes on a seal the series with two more wins from here.

BDST: 1113 HRS, AUG 01, 2014