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England faced the wrath of cricket fans on social media after their dismal 434-run defeat against India in the third Test in Rajkot on Sunday (February 18). They now trail in the five-match series 1-2.
The visitors dominated a couple of sessions on Days 1 and 2, but were completely outplayed during the rest of the Rajkot Test. They reduced India to 33/3 in the morning session on Day 1 but let the game slip away by giving lifelines to the Indian batters. Rohit Sharma and others utilized the chances and helped their side reach a decent first innings total of 445.
Ben Duckett (153) then smashed the bowlers around the park in the third session on Day 2, setting up a great platform for England in their first innings. They had a chance to bat big the next day as Ravichandran Ashwin was unavailable for India. However, they failed to do that and got bundled out for 319.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (214*), Shubman Gill (91), and Sarfaraz Khan (68*) powered India to 430/4 in their second innings before declaration. England then capitulated in the steep chase of 557 and surrendered meekly for just 122 in the final innings.
A few fans were critical of England's Bazball approach, pointing out the lack of plan B and the lack of ability to play according to the situation. They expressed such views by sharing hilarious memes on social media platforms.
Here are some of the best memes:
"We have to win the next couple of games to win the series"- England captain Ben Stokes after loss vs India in 3rd Test
Speaking at the post-match presentation, England skipper Ben Stokes reflected on the loss and said:
"Ben Duckett played an unbelievable innings, that was the tone we wanted to set for our first innings first time around. For us it was about identifying that opportunity to try and push the scoreboard to get as close as possible to India's total. That said, I actually wanted to bowl yesterday, although it came sooner than what we wanted.
"We wanted to try and push the game as much as we could due to the nature of the wicket, sometimes the game plan doesn't work out. That's sports at times. Everyone's got a perception about things, but the opinions of the people in the dressing room is what matters.
On the road ahead, Stokes added:
"We know that things don't always work out. 2-1 down in the series, still two games to go. We leave this game behind us just like the 1st and 2nd game, even with those results, we have to win the next couple of games to win the series. That's what we're trying to do."
The fourth Test of the five-match series will commence on Friday (February 23) at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.
