England vs India 2018: 5 things that India did differently to win at Trent Bridge

The Indian cricket team bounced back in style with a convincing 203 run win over hosts England in the 3rd test at Trent Bridge after going 2-0 down in the Series. The Indian team, put into bat by England skipper Joe Root, piled on 329 runs in their first innings, aided by a gutsy 97 from skipper Virat Kohli and a counter-attacking 81 by Ajinkya Rahane.

England in reply was bundled out for a mere 161 courtesy of a brilliant spell of swing bowling from Hardik Pandya which saw him end up with figures of 5/28 from his 6 overs.

A second innings century from Virat Kohli (103) supported at the other end by twin fifties from Cheteshwar Pujara(72) and Hardik Pandya(52*) saw India register 352/7 with a massive lead of 520 on board.

England showed great courage and fight to take the game to the fifth day before being bundled out for 317.

Let us take a look into the five things that India did differently in the third test against England at Trent Bridge to ensure a win this time around:

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#5 Positive intent shown by Indian openers

Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul batted with Intent Negating the England Seamers

Indian openers have failed miserably to provide the team with a good start in the first two test matches against England.

The loss of quick wickets at the top of the order has been letting the visiting team down ever since the South Africa tour earlier in the year.

Murali Vijay, despite being one of India’s best batsman when India toured England back in 2014 has looked completely out of sorts in the opening two test matches which saw him getting dropped for the third test at Trent Bridge.

Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, who was included in the playing XI ahead of Vijay showed great character and determination facing the new ball against the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

The duo batted beautifully in both the innings, leaving well outside the off stump and putting the bad balls away to the fence, giving the visitors a solid foundation to build upon.

#4 Individual brilliance from Kohli and Pandya

The Individual Brilliance of Both Turned the match on its Head

Virat Kohli once again showed why he is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world with twin knocks of 97 and 103 in his two outings in the test match.

He showed extraordinary discipline with the bat and looked extremely fluent while playing his shots as he made his way to his 23rd test century in the second innings after being unlucky to miss out on a hundred in the first innings.

Pandya bowled a dream spell to pick up his maiden fifer in the first innings in a span of six overs. The England batsmen looked clueless and had no answer to the insane amount of swing that Pandya was generating.

The 24-year-old played his part with the bat as well, scoring a quickfire fifty to help the visitors extend their lead to over 500.

#3 Pujara and Rahane back amongst the runs

India's Dependable Test Batsman was back among the Runs

Cheteswar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who was struggling for runs in the first two test matches, showed great application and temperament this time around, once again proving why form is temporary but class is permanent.

Rahane displayed a masterclass in the first innings with a gritty knock of 81 from 131 balls which saw him and Kohli register a 159 run partnership for the fourth wicket to take the game away from England at a point where a wicket or two could have entirely swung the game in England’s favour.

Pujara, on the other hand, played a resilient knock of 72 off 208 balls in the 2nd innings which once again depicted his value in a batting unit which has looked really fragile in overseas conditions.

Pujara once again showcased a classic test innings, leaving everything outside the off stump waiting for the bowlers to bowl at his stumps before flicking them through the on-side.

Pujara was involved in a 164-run partnership with skipper Virat Kohli which ensured that there was no coming back into the game for England.

#2 Improved Slip Catching

India was Excellent in the slips

India’s slip catching has always been a talking point for critics ever since the retirement of regulars like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, despite being among the safest pairs of hands in the field for India, have let go a number of catches in the slip cordon which have costed India on numerous occasions in the recent past.

Shikhar Dhawan, Chesteshwar Pujara, Ravi Ashwin and KL Rahul were the other players tried out by Virat Kohli in the slip cordon without much avail.

India’s poor slip catching also costed the team in the first two test matches as the players who were dropped early on in their innings went on to score some big runs.

India’s slip fielding has been a lot better in the third test match and the Indian fielders have managed to latch on to almost every opportunity coming their way.

This has not only helped the visiting team pick up wickets at regular intervals but has also boosted the confidence of the bowlers to a good effect.

#1 Patience and Determination shown by Indian bowlers

Indian Bowlers were superb in their line and Lengths

The Indian bowling line up consisting of the likes of Shami, Bumrah,Ishant Sharma, Pandya and Ashwin bowled beautifully in both innings right from the word go.

Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were excellent with the new ball and kept bowling in the right areas aided every now and then by the movement in the air as well as off the pitch after hitting the seam.

Ishant Sharma got the ball to talk as well, removing the England openers three out of four times in the test match.

Hardik Pandya bowled one of the best spells of his life in the first innings, picking up his maiden fifer after being introduced as the fifth bowling change. Ravichandran Ashwin kept the pressure on the England batsmen and bowled economically at the other end, despite having only one wicket to show for all his hard work.

There were periods when England seemed to be batting really well, but the Indian bowlers kept bowling good lines and lengths throughout the England innings, which did not let the hosts run away with the game at any point of time.

Credit goes to the Indian pacers, especially, Bumrah for hitting the right lengths at a good pace, even when Jos Butler and Ben Stokes stitched a fantastic partnership for the hosts chasing an almost impossible target of 521.

Bumrah brought India back into the game with three quick wickets with the second new ball, registering his second fifer in his relatively new test career.

England showed great fight and determination in their second innings to take the match to the final day of the test match but there was no coming back as Ashwin completed the formalities to give India a 203-run victory over England in the third test.