He had played nine Tests before and never looked convincing. But on a lazy Sunday afternoon and under overcast conditions Hardik Pandya required just 29 balls to dismantle the English batting-order, bundling them for 161 in 38.2 overs to put India in command of the third match at Trent Bridge.
It took Pandya just six overs for his maiden five-wicket haul and by the time he had finished it, England from 86-3 was now reeling at 128-9, their entire batting unit sent back into the pavilion leaving only flashes of Jos Buttler behind.
Pandya swung the ball, bounced it, bowled it full or occasionally short and everything had only one result: wickets, so much that he almost came close to having a hat-trick but Stuart Broad survived three balls more before following his predecessors into the hut.
But England had begun well not just in batting but also in bowling, packing India inside the first half-hour with only another 22 added to its overnight score of 307/6. Young debutant Rishabh Pant, who had opened his tally with a staggering six in only the second ball he faced, broke the gates dragging an off-side ball from Broad into the stumps and the rest three followed suit inside 7.4 in a damp, cloudy morning.
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Then with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah constantly bowling erratic lines, England raced to 46/0 at lunch, scoring over four runs an over – as the feelings of India once again losing control crept into minds. But what unfurled next was totally unexpected.
First when Ishant Sharma, handed the ball, showed what full-length could gift the bowler in these conditions, with the wicket of Alastair Cook – as the 20-year-old wicketkeeper Pant held on to the first of his five catches. Then Bumrah sent Keaton Jennings back, with a similar ball that landed at Pant’s hands – who completed his hat-trick of catches with Oliver Pope’s wicket down the leg.
Soon England from merrymaking and celebration of edging back into the Test match after a first-day disappearance were once again walking down the grave, following one another, silently and of course cheaply.
Pandya got Joe Root to nick one to second slip where Rahul bent low and deep to help the ball bounce on his palms, while Jonny Bairstow departed swinging his bat to one that actually swung away from him and it again ended at Rahul. Then with two of England’s in-form batsmen gone, it was only a matter of time.
Chris Woakes perished the same way he had schemed Cheteshwar Pujara’s dismissal – to a bouncer that fetched Pant his fourth and best catch of the innings – before Adil Rashid edged and Broad missed a full ball aimed into his pads. It all happened in the space of 29 balls and at the end of it, Pandya was soaking into the applause of the Nottingham crowd, toasting the red cherry up and gleaming in the sunshine, which had just awoken.
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Jos Buttler tried and managed to avoid the follow-on by smashing Shami out of the park, before falling to a miscued shot off Ishant. But what he could not avoid was England’s fall inside a session for the third time in 22 months.
India had learned their lesson with the ball, executing plans to perfection, just like they had done so a day earlier with the bat. It continued till the day ended with Shikhar Dhawan (44) and Rahul (36) adding another 60-run opening partnership, before Dhawan and Pujara (33) combined for another 51.
Both the openers perished late, but Pujara and skipper Virat Kohli (8) ensured it remained India’s day – the best they have had so far in England this series, where both bat and ball matched to ring England’s bails off.