England vs India, 3rd Test: Rating the England players
England came into the match as clear favorites having thrashed India by an innings & 159 runs in the 2nd test of the ongoing 5-Test match series. On the other hand, India was not even given a chance before the 3rd match with former England skipper Nasser Hussain even going on record to say, "Its Men against Boys."
However, India showed why they are the World No. 1 side in the world, as they thrashed England comprehensively by 209 runs, outplaying the hosts in all 3 departments, keeping the series alive at 2-1.
Let us look at which player got the highest marks and which player definitely needs to improve his performance:
#1 Alastair Cook (3/10)
Alastair Cook looked solid in the first innings till the time Ishant Sharma was brought on to bowl. He was dropped once by Pujara in the slips, however, he could not make full use of it and was caught behind two balls later scoring only 29 runs. First innings also saw him take a blinder to get rid of Ajinkya Rahane, so definitely a bonus point there.
In the second innings, however, he loses his bonus point for dropping a simple catch of Shikhar Dhawan at first slip. With the bat as well, his performance was disappointing; getting out in the 3rd over of day 4 by Ishant Sharma after scoring 17 runs off 39 deliveries.
#2 Keaton Jennings (2.5/10)
Jennings was starting to look comfortable in the first innings till the time he decided to flirt with a Bumrah delivery he should have easily left alone. He scored 20 runs off 32 balls but failed to convert yet another start into a big knock. He was also guilty of dropping a simple catch of Hardik Pandya standing in the third slip.
In the second inning, Jenning was the first to go, getting out in the very first over of Day 4 to Ishant Sharma after scoring 13 runs off 31 balls. Thus, his place might be in danger in the next match.
#3 Joe Root (2/10)
Root had a tough time in the first innings with a lot of edges, misses, lbw appeals and finally getting out caught by KL Rahul at 2nd slip off Hardik Pandya. He did score 16 runs, but the English skipper couldn't deliver when his team wanted him to.
In the second innings as well, it always seemed a matter of time before Root would have been dismissed. He looked very nervy and finally got out to a delivery which he is quite able to deal with in normal circumstances. Root scored 13 off 40 balls, just not enough when you are trying to save a test match.
#4 Ollie Pope (2/10)
The 20-year old, Pope looked completely at ease barring one or two deliveries in his entire first innings in which he faced 22 deliveries scoring 10 runs. He must be considering himself quite unlucky, being strangled down the leg in an attempt to glance the ball off his hips.
In the second innings, Pope did try to put up a fight, but some clever bowling by Shami combining with Kohli's brilliance in the slip just didn't let it happen. He scored 16 runs off 39 balls.