Key events
42nd over: India 136-3 (Rahul 64, Pant 24) Rahul pulls to deep fine and they run two, then misses with an airy cut; Tongue’s bowling nicely, and I wonder if Stokes will try and get Carse back on so it’s those two in tandem. In the meantime, though, he’s hitting a really nice line, cramping the batter outside off, and the final delivery of the over tails in, but Rahul plays inside it – it’s like he’s got air tags on his off stump, so precisely can he judge its whereabouts.
“In response to the missive from the great Tom Madders in over 39,” responds Darrien Bold – that Darrien Bold, not one of the numerous others – “I can reveal that it is indeed I, DJ SKRABBLE, and it is such a delight to hear from Tom I am going to stick on Come On You Reds in celebration.”
Can we understand the genesis of the pseudonym, please?
41st over: India 134-3 (Rahul 62, Pant 24) Rahul twizzles a single to fine leg, then Pant guides an edge for a four that was a much more handsome shot than it looked. He’s into this now, his tempo adjusting to the situation; India lead by 140.
40th over: India 129-3 (Rahul 61, Pant 20) A single to Pant, who now looks more comfy at the crease, then Tongue goes over to Rahul, who defends twice then glances around the corner for one. England need a wicket.
I should say, by the way, that Come On You Reds features my favourite key-change of all time; behold!
39th over: India 127-3 (Rahul 60, Pant 19) Rahul takes a single wide of mid on, then Pant runs one down, a much better effort than pretty much every other scoring shot he’s played today. Then, bowling the final ball of the over, Stokes hits a crack, the ball lifting and spitting away. India lead by 133.
“Please can you find out if the Darrien Bold who wrote to you in over 26 to critique the deepness of your REM cut is the same Darrien Bold who used to go by the name DJ SKRABBLE?” requests Tom Madders. “This legend was known for dropping bangers like Status Quo’s ‘Come On You Reds’ and the theme tune to Grandstand in the middle of my indie club night to annoy hipsters and amuse himself. Anyway, I think I’ve still got his Strokes CD if he wants it.”
Let’s put our heads together…
38th over: India 125-3 (Rahul 59, Pant 18) Gosh, Sky are advertising a lunchtime interview with Anderson and Tendulkar, in that order; thoughts and prayers with the great Sunny. Tongue then replaces Woakes and naturally, Pant charges the new man without having a look at him first, hammering fresh air over the fence; again, the ball misses the stumps, the sense is growing that the luck is with him today. More generally, it was extremely gratifying to see Tongue clean up the India tail in the first dig – over the years, this has been a problem for various England teams, so a bowler able to target the stumps at pace is extremely useful. Anyroad, Pant then gets down the other end, before Rahul opens the face nicely to guide four wide of slip – that was Ronald-like, and there’s no higher compliment. But have a look! Just as we’re praising the batter’s discipline, he waves a bat at a wide one, looking to lift over slip, doesn’t apply requisite power, almost checking the shot … and Brook, looking to grab in front of his face, can only tip it over the bar. That wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible either, and he’s there specifically to snaffle those.
37th over: India 118-3 (Rahul 54, Pant 17) Stokes begins with a leg bye for one, then one that moves in and away is expertly left – Rahul is at one with this pitch, reading it beautifully. A no ball follows, then deliveries outside off are ignored – this is a very patient knock, the batter determined not to give it away. That’s drinks and, though England made a great start, India will feel the’ve had the better of the first hour.
36th over: India 116-3 (Rahul 54, Pant 17) Pant’s been talking to himself a fair bit – I’m not sure he’s decided how to play this innings, caught between his natural game and stopping in. Thing is, if he just takes care not to give it away, he’ll score runs anyway because that’s what he does, and if a jaffa gets him, so be it – he’s no need to force anything. A single to each batter adds two to the total, and Stokes will now replace Carse.
Otherwise, here’s the best Glastonbury set I’ve seen.
35th over: India 114-3 (Rahul 53, Pant 16) Carse won’t have too many overs left in this spell but I like how wide he’s going to Pant – outside off temps him to flay, tighter tests his defence. Two dots eventuate, then two singles, before one that nips in beats the bat; it’s tempting to think this is the crucial partnership of the innings, but England have been burned by Jadeja too many times for that to feel like any kind of certainty.
34th over: India 112-3 (Rahul 52, Pant 15) Rahul pulls away as Woakes runs in – the second time that’s happened, and even the most mild-mannered man in the world is finding it nauseating. Another maiden, and it barely needs stating that if this Test was four days, we’d not be feeling like we’re feeling.
REVIEW! NOT OUT!
Stokes indicated there were two noises before going upstairs and he was right; the first was bat, the second pad. Pant, though, is playing like he wants to give his wicket away.
33rd over: India 112-3 (Rahul 52, Pant 15) Rahul turns a single into the on side, then Pant gets down on one knee to play another slog-sweep and instead scythes uglily over the cordon but will Root be able to catch up with it? Pant thinks he’s gawn, but the wind rescues him and that’s four more. He won’t get away with this indefinitely, but, and the lead is 118. Then, facing the final delivery of the over, Carse coming from around, Pant slides across to the off-side, looking to play a scoop, tumbles, ball hits body, and this has got to be close but was there an edge?! The umpire rejects the appeal, and will England review? Yes they will!
“To understand Sunil Gavaskar’s petty complaint on the naming of the trophy,” advises Krishnamoorthy V, “you need to understand something about Indians. From the very early stages it has been drilled into them that being first matters. You should cone first in academics, in the lemon and spoon race, in the drawing competition, in swimming, in quiz, wherever and in whatever. Doesn’t matter whether one merits it. It is seen as a birthright rather than something to strive for. Will it hard enough and it shall happen. Hence this obsession to be first everywhere, even someone as great as the original Little Master can’t escape that.”
32nd over: India 107-3 (Rahul 51, Pant 11) Woakes goes around to Pant and directs a ball into the body, inciting a cry of anguish from the batter, who wears it in the dress circle. I wonder, though, if HE might go a little wide on the crease to really target off-stump … and while I’m doing that, Pant skips down to thrash back past the bowler for four. Already, I’m looking forward to seeing how Stokes and Tongue do in these conditions.
31st over: India 103-3 (Rahul 51, Pant 7) Another maiden from Carse, who might just be establishing himself as a fixture. He looks to me like the kind of bowler who might do well in Australia too – he’ll enjoy the bounce and has the pacer to drop back his length a little.
Glastonbury, then: “Thank you for mentioning the magic ‘G’ word and distracting me from drafting a rather boring agreement for ten minutes,” says Richard O’Hagan. “I think that the highlight of my viewing – from the comfort of my own sofa – will probably be the re-formed Maccabees on Sunday night. Sprints and TV on the Radio are always great live, and a special mention for Du Blonde because singer Beth Jeans Houghton always seems sweetly baffled that anyone pays her to do this. I guess that sums up most people’s approach to their job. We just don’t have to show it in public. Oh well, back to that agreement…”
Meantime, Henry Coleman offers thusly: “Because reviewing line-ups for festivals I cannot go to is my masochistic kink, I jumped at your invitation for Glastonbury recommendations, for which I have two:
– The Japanese Breakfast and Lucy Dacus b2b on the Park Stage on Saturday. Both released banging albums this year. Song recc, Talk by Lucy Dacus:
– Turnstile on the Other Stage on Sunday. Nominally a hardcore band but really these guys meld pop punk, synth pop, samba and more. Never Enough, the title track from their album, also released this year, is an absolute smasher:
And my final proposition is that 2025 may be a vintage year for alternative rock and indie as there have already been a ton of great albums this year. This prophecy is basically no use to anyone, including myself, but hey occasionally it’s nice to PROCLAIM.”
30th over: India 103-3 (Rahul 51, Pant 7) I can’t think of many sportsfolk I’ve written off more often than I’ve written off Chris Woakes – Raymond van Barnveld and John Higgins, perhaps. But he’s still so good and as I type, following a single to to Pant, he finds away movement off the seam, there’s nothing whatsoever Rahul can do, and the ball somehow misses the bails. There’s plenty in this pitch today, and much as England are enjoying it, the looming threat of Bumrah has John Williams’ music playing in ma heed. A single to Rahul completes the scoring for the over.
“Should even work in Bosnia,” offers Mike Barron, who sends us the TMS link.
29th over: India 101-3 (Rahul 50, Pant 6) Pant immediately gets himself down the other end, so Carse consoles himself by hurling a beauty down to Rahul – it swings in and beats the edge, again with just enough lift. But a full toss follows, an edge into the on side earning two and raising a crucial 50 for the man upon whom India will be relying to navigate this innings. A further excellent delivery follows, quick and just outside off; the lead is 107.
28th over: India 98-3 (Rahul 48, Pant 5) Woakes is attacking the stumps here – I’m not sure he respects Pant’s defence. But Pant, following that absurd hoik, is playing more watchfully now, leaving when he can before, after five dots, he stretches to shove a single into the off side – meaning he’ll be on strike when Crse returns in a moment. This is intense, and it’s only getting intenser.
“Lovely memories of being a young kid and exposed to REM for the first time,” writes Ryan Amesbury. “For me, via my Dad and his mate playing Out of Time and Automatic for the People on tape in the car, now I was old enough (9) to tag along on fishing trips, which were then still a spectator sport.
I’m currently on holiday in Bosnia, and both me and my wife have been struck down with a summer cold. I thought TMS would be just the ticket for an afternoon hiding from the Mostar sun… but… “This content isn’t available in your location…” quoth the website. No Five Live Sports Extra on the BBC Sounds app. What is the Beeb doing?! So I know the OBO isn’t a helpline, but I’ve tried turning it on and off again and that hasn’t worked. How do all the fine correspondents of the OBO and TMS itself around the globe manage VPNs?!”
27th over: India 97-3 (Rahul 48, Pant 4) I really enjoy the almost balletic nature of Carse’s gather – it’s almost a prink rather than a leap – and I’m sure helps him extract the bounce he’s getting this morning. Rahul actually rides it pretty well while, in comms, Stuart Broad notes how much he’d like to bowl on this, willing a grubber to really get the batters thinking. Maiden.
“I can understand the frustration with the naming of the series trophy,” consoles Brian Withington, “when it could so obviously have been the ‘Suni(l) Jim(my) Cup’ and to hell with alphabetical order.”
26th over: India 97-3 (Rahul 48, Pant 4) Woakes replaces Bashir and Rahul shoves a single to point; how is Pant going to play here? Ahahaha, I think we know the answer to that, the rivers of suggestion driving him away; he leaves his first ball, then unloads the suitcase at the next with such violence you half expect to see his arms flying over the boundary, but instead slices an edge over slip for four.
“Morning Daniel, morning everyone,” begins Darrien Bold. “Interesting that Pete says you reference an REM deep cut? The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite was a top 20 single (and a mainstay of Now 26), so there are clearly much deeper cuts to squeeze into the OBO. Anyway, I’ll get back to enjoying the commentary team reviewing the Aus SA final and hear about how the Test was won and where it got us.”
All part of life’s rich pageant, I’d say.
WICKET! Gill b Carse 8 (India 92-3)
A huge moment! Carse has started well and Gill looks to play a run-down, but as he opens the face, the ball jags in and provokes him to play on! Now then!
25th over: India 92-2 (Rahul 47, Gill 8) It’s going to be Crydon Barse, down the hill but into the wind, and I’m really glad he’s getting a proper go at Test cricket – you could see when he started playing ODIs that he had something. Anyroad, he’s charging in with intensity; Gill yanks him around the corner to deep backward square and they run two.
24th over: India 90-2 (Rahul 47, Gill 6) A dot to begin. The lead is 96.
Shoaib Bashir has the ball, and will finish off his over from last evening.
Here come our players…
“Beautiful test but India will be disappointed with themselves,” reckons Arul Kanhere. “With all due respect to Shardul, who has rescued both India and Mumbai from dire straits … India need a player who can get in on his primary skill and be handy with the secondary one. Shardul is helping with none at the moment.” This could always come back to bite me in the ass if the top order collapses and Lord Thakur scores a century … beautiful game.”
“Maybe Sunil Gavaskar is still cheesed off at the Australia-India trophy being called Border-Gavaskar rather than Gavaskar-Border,” suggests Andy Flintoff, “because, obviously, he has the better record (AB averages 50.56, SG averages 51.12).”
That pesky alphabet again – though also worth noting AB has 39 Test wickets.
Email! “Thanks for the REM deep cut so early in the OBO,” writes Pete. “As a longtime tragic fan, I approve. I do dislike that song though. At their most annoying, alongside Shiny Happy People.”
It’s not one of my favourites either, but SHP has a place in my heart because it was, after Near Wild Heaven, the first REM song I heard and, aged 11, it moved me. What a band, though – at 46, I feel I can say that they are both my favourite and the best of my music-listening career.
On which point, if anyone has any Glastonbury recommendations, send em in.
Athers, meanwhile, notes that Dinesh Karthik was “part of the elite commentary panel” – notably, he was not, which is unusual. Perhaps he needs to get dapperer.
On Sky, they’re talking about the WTC final – and what an occasion that was. I was lucky enough to be there on days one and three, and it felt like the start of something. I can’t deny that on Friday morning, we felt Australia had more than enough runs, but as South Africa’s response developed, we realised that for Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma, this was it. The Aussie team and players have their legacies assured, but for these two, it was bringing this home or nothing, and watching them do it was so moving.
So let’s talk turkey: how many runs will India want? My sense is that, though the Headingley track generally gets better to bat on, the unusually clement will mean it’s crumblier and flakier than usual – ideal for Bumrah and not bad for Jadeja either. I reckon India will want 350, but my sense is England will either successfully chase almost any target they’re set, or get nowhere near anything sub sub sub sub substantial.
It’s windy and chilly in Leeds this morning which makes sense – generally speaking, the east of the country is cold, the west is rainy. Ian Ward has his anorak on, while Stuart Broad is in blazer and off-white drainpipe chinos. Just as well he’s got 604 Test wickets.
Do these two handsome devils look alike?
There’s something very sweet about one Little Master repping for another but … have you heard of the alphabet?
Preamble
So, four-day Tests, then: who’s up for those?
I can’t lie, it’s tempting to leave this preamble there – and not just to avoid writing any more words because really, what kind of people would seek to curtail the world’s greatest sporting format? But the format itself and this particular iteration of it deserve better than a pithy line directed at those who would happily ruin it for money, so let’s also wonder about the actual contest.
It’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen from here. India look the likelier because Bumrah and a wearing day-five pitch sound like the most unpleasant double-act imaginable … except the ability of Baz n’ Ben’s Testvangelists to chase previously ungettable targets is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. It’d be no surprise to see India bat too long , just as it’d be none were the greatest bowler in the world to tear through England in a session.
In other words, it feels like the direction this match takes is up to the tourists. Of course, it’s possible England knock them over then knock off the runs, but far more likely that India set a testing target with all three results possible well into tomorrow.
And though a result some time on the final afternoon is part of the perfect Test pro forma, it’s not actually the most powerful argument in favour of keeping things as they are. Many great matches end sooner than the fifth day, but the potential existence of that fifth day necessarily impacts those which come before it. Our society primes us to constantly be seeking better and different, which is fine – as long as we can also recognise that sometimes, things are great as they are. And make no mistake, this is, and is going to be that.
Play: 11am BST
