India dominated the first session of day, reducing England to 89/4 and then 131/5, but Chris Woakes (120*) and Jonny Bairstow (93) took it away from the visitors, putting on a 189-run stand to help England head into stumps with a lead of 250. Hardik Pandya, who took the wickets of Ollie Pope and Bairstow, and denied the latter a sixth Test hundred, said India’s bowlers tried their best but struggled once the ball stopped swinging.
“As a bowling unit, we tried everything and all of a sudden the ball stopped swinging,” he said. “Then Woakes and Bairstow took the game away. But it happens. I’ve seen in Test matches where you get five wickets quickly or four wickets quickly and then you get that one partnership. With our batting line-up also we’ve done it many times. It’s just a part of the game.”
On the second day, India were bundled out for 107 in just 35.2 overs. The fact that England could fight back with 357/6 reflected how vastly the conditions had changed, Pandya said.
“(Yesterday) any team would have got the same score that we had got because playing in those conditions, where a little drizzle was there, the wicket was little bit wet … the conditions were completely different,” he said.
“And when we bowled today, it was in proper sunlight. Obviously, we knew that today was the wicket that we actually expected from the first day. Because of the weather yesterday, the wicket changed quite a bit and it was doing a lot. That’s the only difference.”
The conditions seemingly assisted the seamers, but Pandya said the changing conditions justified India’s decision to play two spinners instead of an extra paceman.
“I think three (pace bowlers) were enough, to be honest. We did enough, we bowled properly. We knew about whatever effort we had to put. And as I told you, today’s wicket was the wicket which we expected and it was a proper call.
“If it had been a five-day game, spinners would have come into play. But because of the rain and everything, the game has been shortened and there are not many foot-marks. So it was not gripping much. But yes, if it was a five-day game, things would have been different.”
