The Comeback for the Ages

Having been underfire after being demolished at Lord's in the second test, India bounced back magnificently to win the Trent Bridge Test and go 1-2 in the series.

Captain Kohli leading the team off the ground after winning the third test against England.

"There is not a single negative bone in this unit", pronounced India Head Coach Ravi Shastri. Team India proved him right, and showed exactly why there are the table toppers in the ICC Test Ranking, in the third test against England at Nottingam. Having been 0-2 down in a five-match Test series, not many teams can fight back in the manner India have, coming to Trent Bridge. India knocked down England by a collosal 203 run margin to come up 1-2 in the series. The result at Trent Bridge has two implications - first, that the series is still alive and second, India have given themselves the confidence that they may pull, dare I say, what

no team has pulled off since Don Bradman's Australia in 1936.

Going down the lanes of history

In the Ashes of 1936, England were 2-0 up in the series after two of the five matches that had been played. Any team's morale would have been crushed and they would have crumbled to a one-sided series defeat, if not a whitewash. But this was called Don Bradman's era for a reason. Australia came back very strongly to win the series 3-2. Since then, it has never happened again. So there are many new records out there to be set.

The Toss

India had been bundled out for a meagre total of 107 runs in unplayable conditions on the first day of the second Test match at Lord's. None of the batsman, barring Virat Kohli, had had a good series till then. The opening combination was not settled as Murali Vijay was out for a pair, leading to him, eventually, being dropped from the team. KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were also not able to capitalize on the starts. While KL Rahul was having trouble against the ball coming in, Dhawan had been dropped after fishing outside the off-stump in the first Test. Seeing the unsettled batting line-up, Root, who won the toss put India into bat on a grassy track anticipating to bundle the team and therefore, to wrap up the series quickly.

The Opening Pair

The way Shikhar Dhawan played in the first innings and partnered with KL Rahul to score a rare half-century partnership, reminded of Sachin Tendulkar's innings in Sydney where he cut the cover drive completely and scored 241* in 436 balls in a marathon 10 hour innings.

Shikhar Dhawan's cover drives are a joy to watch and it is his favorite shot as well. However, the English bowlers wanted Shikhar to drive and edge one to the slip cordon in the attempt. Shikhar not only consciously cut off the drive but also played the ball very late. He let the ball come to him rather than pouncing on it, so not typical of Shikhar Dhawan school of batsmanship. In the second innings, when his confidence was back, he unleased his beautiful drives and cut the wide deliveries brutally. But while he put away the bad balls, he still played with a lot of caution and maturity by playing inside the line against good deliveries. KL Rahul, on the other hand, looked in fabulous touch in both the innings until he got out. The opening partnership yielded a pair of 60 runs in the Test match.

Building up on the good starts

The India captain and Vice Captain scored a 150+ run partnership to stabilize the team after being 83/3 post lunch.

The middle order, this time, batted very positively in both the innings. While, in the first innings, it was Kohli and Rahane's partnership of over 150 runs, it was Pujara and Kohli who saw India give an unbreachable lead in the second innings. Rahane had been in poor form for a very long time. Barring the Johannesburg Test, Rahane had not done anything substantial to cement his place in the side, coming into this Test match. However, coach Ravi Shastri said that the team management had full faith in the abilities of Rahane and called him the "pillar of the team". Perhaps, this gave Rahane a lot of confidence and he scored a much-needed 81. Kohli, meanwhile, was his usual self and missed the century by 3 runs in the first innings. Playing his debut Test match for India, Rishab Pant showed no signs on nervousness in the middle when he drove the first ball of Adil Rashid towards the cover region only to find a fielder and then, followed it up by a mighty six down the ground on just his second delivery in the elite format. India went on to cross that 300 run mark and posted a total of 329 after first innings. Pujara, too played a gritty knock of 72 in the second innings and partnered with Virat Kohli who has a habit of making centuries for fun. Kohli got out on 103, before a quick half century by Hardik Pandya to give England a mammoth target of 521

in the fourth innings.

Coming of age for Hardik Pandya, the All-Rounder

Hardik Pandya after taking five-wicket haul

Michael Holding had been very critical of Hardik Pandya the all rounder, coming into the 3rd Test match. However, all the criticisms were replied in an emphatic manner when Pandya took a 5 wicket haul in a space of just 29 deliveries to bamboozle the opposition who bundled out for just 161, thanks to a blitzy 39 by Jos Buttler sans which England would have been all out for even lesser.

The bowler Hardik Pandya gave confidence to the batsman Hardik. In the second essay of the Test, Hardik combined with the lower order and scored his fourth half century before

India declared late on Day 3.

The Conversion Conundrum for King Kohli

It has been mentioned a lot of time and emphasized so much how the English captain Joe

Root has had problems converting his 50s to 100s. For the second time in this series, captain Kohli has scored a total of exact 200 runs in this series. In the opening encounter at Edgbaston, he scored 149 and 51 in two innings. Whereas at Nottingham, he scored a 97 and a gritty 103. It is, of course, expecting way too much when I say Kohli is having a problem converting his double centuries into daddy ones. Also worth mentioning here is that Kohli's knock of 103 in the second innings is his fourth slowest century. Runs haven't come as easy but they surely have, for Kohli. It's time to say that the ghosts of the 2014 tour of England are "dead and buried", in Harsha's words.

What's Next?

India have replied ruthlessly after the badgering at Lord's. For India, the openers have provided a solid start and middle order has capitalized on it almost perfectly. Rishab Pant never seemed to be playing just his debut match. He and Rahul, at second slips, took 7 catches each to counter the catching troubles. Ashwin is suffering a hip injury and it's to be seen whether he would play the upcoming test. A nine-day break is favorable for him as he has ample time to recover. Murali Vijay and Kuldeep Yadav have been dropped from the final two tests. So if needed, Jadeja will replace Ashwin for the test at Ageas Bowl in Southampton. India A opener and Under 19 World Cup winning captain Prithvi Shaw has been drafted into the 18 men squad along with Hanuma Vihari, the Andhra Ranji Team captain and also the record holder of highest First Class average (59.97 in 63 games) among contemporaries. After 38 test matches, Virat Kohli may decide to go in with an unchanged squad for the first time as skipper since everyone looked settled in the outing at Trent Bridge.

England have recalled James Vince as a cover for Johnny Bairstow who fractured his middle finger while 'keeping. Johnny Bairstow might play as a pure batsman with Jos Buttler acting as the interim wicketkeeper. England need to sort their opening woes before the next Test match. Both Alaister Cook and Keaton Jennings have been in poor form. Alaister Cook may not be playing the Southampton test as he may be taking a paternity leave. It will be interesting to see how England put up their batting combination. But one thing for sure, next test is going to be a cracking one, with India coming from a stunning victory and high on confidence while England being 2-1 up. Will England be able to win the match and wrap

up the series at Ageas Bowl?