"That's what a lot of us were worried about" - Sir Alastair Cook reacts to Indian spinners' 'chaos' on day 3 of IND vs ENG 4th Test
Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook suggested that Indian spinners well and truly came to the party on Day 3 of the 4th Test in Ranchi. The ex-opener believes the tourists weren't at their best on Day 3, unlike the previous couple of ones.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja brought their A game on Day 3 after conceding a 46-run lead. Ashwin and Kuldeep shared 9 wickets between them, with the former taking a record-equalling 35th fifer in Tests. The duo's prolific returns helped the hosts bowl the tourists out for only 145, setting themselves a 192-run target to win.
Cook believes everyone was waiting for the moment the prolific spinners would pounce on, and also noted that England have a 'mountain to climb'. Speaking on TNT Sports, he said:
"Today we've seen India's spinners causing chaos on a turning pitch and I think that's what a lot of us were worried about before the series. To win a Test against this India team in their own conditions, England have to be on it for four whole days...They have been very good for two and a half days, but the last few hours they weren't on it and India have burst through the door. England have got a mountain to climb."
No England batter apart from Zak Crawley reached a half-century on Day 3. Notably, the Englishmen collapsed from 110-3 to 145 all out, with big names like Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes failing to produce the goods.
England pick wickets but India well ahead
Meanwhile, the home side's openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal had shaved off 40 runs in 8 overs before stumps on Day 3. The duo started Day 4 from where they had left off before Yashasvi Jaiswal departed, leaving India at 84/1. Rohit brought up his half-century before perishing, with Rajat Patidar following him soon after for a duck.
England won the opening Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs in thrilling fashion, but went on to lose the next two comprehensively by 106 and 434 runs, respectively. Hence, they will be keen to force a series decider in the 5th Test in Dharamsala.