Trying to get near a 471-run first-innings total would have been a steep climb for most sides.
But so emphatically did England turn the tables on India, that for most part of day three of the first Test here in Headingley, it was the visitors – despite a rejuvenating, cool breeze blowing across the ground – who resembled a pack of tired cyclists staring at a hulking mountain.
England, from an overnight 209 for three, fought India to a standstill, ending its first essay just six runs adrift. For the remaining two days, the forecast is for grey skies, which means India has to bat both for time and runs.
By close on Sunday, India showed the stomach for a fight by reaching 90 for two, propelled by a silken K.L. Rahul knock (47 batting, 75b, 7×4). The opening session on Monday may well decide who cracks open the contest.
If Harry Brook (99, 112b, 11×4, 2×6) and Jamie Smith (40, 52b, 5×4, 1×6) had been more game aware, England could have really hurt India. Both batters fell to the short-ball ploy from Prasidh Krishna by getting caught in the deep, made worse by the fact that the strategy was visible in plain sight.
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Jasprit Bumrah got a deserved fifer (24.4-5-83-5), but by the time the 31-year-old earned his fourth and fifth wickets, England had already reached 460. It was a day of purposeless bowling and suffering as Prasidh ended up leaking a whopping 128 runs from his 20 overs and Mohammed Siraj alternated between good and ordinary spells.
So bereft of ideas was India that Shubman Gill stationed four men in the deep and tried to bounce out Brydon Carse, no mug with the bat but still a No. 9. Carse (22, 23b, 4×4) and Chris Woakes (38, 55b, 3×4, 2×6) combined for 55 eighth-wicket runs, a partnership that gave the host a significant tailwind.
Yorkshire’s Brook could have had his ninth Test ton and first at his home stadium, but couldn’t capitalise despite being reprieved twice. On 46 (team score: 300 for five), Rishabh Pant failed to latch on to a tough chance off Ravindra Jadeja. Then, on 82 (369 for six), Yashasvi Jaiswal grassed him, this time at gully off an unlucky Bumrah.
But for those chances, and the moment of dull decision-making that led to his dismissal, Brook was assured. A dance down the track to Bumrah for a searing square-driven boundary was his statement shot.
The 26-year-old made his intentions clear quite early, cutting Prasidh for a four and launching him over mid-wicket in the first over of play. Siraj wasn’t spared either, driven straight down and hit over the infield for multiple boundaries.
Second-day centurion Ollie Pope’s walk back pavilion in the third over of the day and Ben Stokes’ retreat after a promising 51-run partnership did nothing to break Brook’s momentum. He moved into the 90s by clubbing Siraj for a six over long-on before a beautifully steered four to the point fence got him to 97.
But when on 99, the ill-judged choice to hook Prasidh rather than tap the ball down for a single put paid to his century hopes. The English tail however wagged, much to the tourists’ annoyance.