Cricket

At least it's not 36 all out.

Seriously though, this isn't a proper test wicket.

if I was england's batsman I would simply twat it for 6 every time

Haha also definitely something to be said for batting aggressively on this deck. Batting today has made the pitch look worse than it is

some catch that

I woke up at 4.06am, glanced at the clock and thought "shall I get up and watch?"

So glad that I replied "nah fuck that".

When I first turned on after waking up:

Channel 4 - showing highlights of Moeen Ali on 146*

Me - incredulous, could it be !?

Channel 4 - back to reality.

1-1 with 2 to play better than 2-0 down.

Well at least it won’t be an innings defeat now.

Comeback's on!

I don’t think anyone would be complaining about the pitch if England had won the toss.

It'll be interesting to see what the rest of wickets will be like in the series and if it's just a consequence of two matches in a row, or whether India intentionally wanted the pitch to be like this. But no, even if the roles were reversed I'd rather not have the match start on what looked like a day 3 wicket.

I reckon it would have been a lot more competitive if England had won the toss. But having the match decided by lunch on day two seems a waste of the format.

And some the umpire referrals to the TV umpire seem almost sarcastic.

this is not a full value test, when kid goes back into nursery tomorrow and I can watch ball to ball, wtf am I going to watch?!

Atherton’s nailed it.

Some contrast to the first test where winning the toss meant you got an absolute road for two days

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But also some awful umpiring and a waste to prep a pitch that won’t take the contest to day 4

Maybe not decisive but definitely a big advantage. India have been much better than us in every aspect but it definitely doesn't hurt coming out to bowl with 300 runs behind you on a wicket like this.

I thought the on field umpires have been pretty good over both tests (excusing the shot played decision) but the 3rd umpire has been atrocious, it looks like he's never done it before.

Foakes is God tier good

Foakes standing up to the stumps for Broad is impressive but probably a product of the game situation.

I hope Ashwin and Kohli milk the enjoyment of making England toil before the inevitable.

Well, for 6 is better than I expected to wake up to...

We've got India just where we need them. Barely 400 ahead and at least two days to get them.

What are we expecting, game over today?

We just need Root to get two more double centuries. Not much to ask is it?

He owes 'Us' one from the first innings.

In the spirit of the game,
do 'We' want a century for Ashwin?

comical run out on 99 would be my preference.