SURFACE TENSION FOR INDIA

On a deck with lots of variable bounce, most of it on the lower side, hosts trail by 134 runs with 3 wickets in hand

- GOMESH S

AS R Ashwin walked back after watching the DRS review of his dismissal on the big screen of the JSCA International Stadium, his mind would have probably revisited an age-old Tamil slang. Uruturadhu.

To translate loosely, it's underarm bowling with the ball rolling along the ground. Within the context of the game, the second part of the sentence is applicable. For the record, the visitors didn't consciously use it as a strategy but they understood the nature of the surface and kept chugging away. In the process, they reduced India to 219/7. The hosts still trail by 134 runs.

Both James Anderson and Ollie Robinson started off with tight lines keeping in mind the variable bounce on offer. Ben Stokes, too, played his part as he set two close fielders on the legside for Rohit Sharma. Anderson lured him forward and the Indian captain hung his bat outside to hand an outside edge. After a while, Stokes brought on Shoaib Bashir - who would go on to bowl 31 bowlers on the trot - and the lanky off-spinner kept hitting the right areas.

Yashasvi Jasiwal and Shubman Gill showed caution, but just when it seemed like the latter was settling, Bashir found one of the cracks. It turned, beat the inside edge and hit the pads.