From Hyderabad harakiri to Rajkot rampage, India ace test of character

When Ben Duckett slog-swept India's Kuldeep Yadav for a boundary through the vacant mid-wicket region early on Day 3, it seemed like the hosts were in for a repeat of what the southpaw had done to them in the evening session on the day prior.

Duckett had peppered the boundary 21 times on Day 2 alongside two sixes and it felt like the question 'Does Bazball work in India?' was finally answered. 35 overs, 207 runs, and just two wickets into the England innings, the Indian shoulders had begun to drop. It felt like Duckett would snatch the game away from the hosts in Rajkot, just as Ollie Pope did in Hyderabad.

There's a saying in Hindi 'Gareebi mein aata geela', meaning an unfortunate event that worsens an already bad situation. India must have felt something along similar lines when Ravichandran Ashwin pulled out of the Test due to a family medical emergency.

While it seemed like India had a long day in the field on Day 2, they instead looked more prepared than ever when taking the field on the next day. After Duckett's first boundary on Day 3, Rohit Sharma plugged the mid-wicket boundary and also had a deep square leg in place to make the southpaw try something different.

Jasprit Bumrah from the other end kept things tight and tried to outfox Duckett with an occasional slower ball. The opener was forced to access the off-side for boundary options against Kuldeep and that led to a couple of false shots. Eventually, the opener ran out of luck and hit a short and wide delivery straight into the hands of Shubman Gill at covers.

While the ball from Kuldeep Yadav was just a long hop that should have been deposited into the stands, the dismissal was the result of sustained pressure. Duckett scored 133 off 118 on Day 2 but took 33 deliveries to add his next 20 runs.

On a flat pitch, the hosts had found the momentum they were desperately looking for.

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The pitch was benign, India's resolve wasn't

The toss-up between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav for the third spinner's spot in Indian conditions was often won by the former because of his all-round ability. However, the team management decided to go with Kuldeeo's variety on a good batting pitch in Rajkot and the onus was on him to repay the faith.

Having been smashed for seven fours and a six on Day 2 and with Ashwin unavailable, Kuldeep had to find the inner strength to deliver an inspirational spell. The left-arm wrist-spinner came out with flying colors as he bowled ten overs on the trot, conceding just 28 runs and picking up the big wickets of Ben Duckett and Jonny Bairstow, the latter for a duck.

He bowled better lines, the trajectory was flatter and the pace was a tad quicker than Day 2, indicating that he had done his homework. The pulsating morning session saw the visitors score just 83 runs in 26 overs and lose three wickets with Kuldeep at the forefront of India's revival.

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Rohit Sharma looked to induce mistakes from opposition rather than wait for them to happen

In the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma opened up on how the message to the dressing room was to maintain calmness despite Duckett's onslaught. Calmness has been a feature of Rohit's captaincy over the years, but one of its downsides has been how he sometimes waits for the batters to make a mistake and lets the game drift in the process.

However, Day 3 saw none of that as Rohit was astute with his field placements and bowling changes. The calmness had a nice tinge of proactiveness to it, something that seemed to be missing in his captaincy in the third innings in Hyderabad and also in phases in Visakhapatnam.

After a fantastic opening session, Rohit Sharma began the afternoon session with Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja. After a 40-minute break, it would have been termed a no-brainer to start the afternoon session with Kuldeep and Bumrah, the two bowlers who stood out that morning.

However, Jadeja and Siraj combined to skittle the rest of the England batting line-up for just 29 runs, handing the hosts a massive lead of 126 runs. The volume of the lead was something India couldn't have envisaged even at Lunch. But the captain's proactiveness, combined with the bowlers' execution, made things happen much quicker than expected.

Be it enticing Stokes to go for the big shot with Jadeja, or setting a leg-side trap to Ben Foakes, Rohit got most of his decisions spot on and deservedly reaped the rewards. While the hosts still had to post a mammoth target, their mindset with the ball on Day 3 helped them get so ahead in the game that England lost control from a position of strength.

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England's approach also played its role in handing India the initiative

One of the main reasons why India are 2-1 up in the series is Joe Root's wretched form with the bat. With just 52 runs in four innings coming into the third Test, it almost felt like Rajkot was the perfect ground for Root to build a tent at the crease and grind the Indians out.

While the reverse sweep was a shot that Root often played, doing it against arguably your biggest negative match-up in Jasprit Bumrah might not have been the smartest thing to do. Yashasvi Jaiswal completed a good catch in the slip cordon and the hosts had the opening almost against the run of play.

More than the shot, it was the timing that was tricky. Naturally, no one would have questioned the intent had it come off, but it didn't. While some of the criticism against Root seems over the top, the legendary batter would know for himself that he had the temperament to potentially see out Bumrah's spell and then go on to score big.

The visitors were aware that India did not have a fifth bowler and still didn't drive home their advantage on Day 3. That was the foot in the door that India needed to shift the momentum decisively in their favor. They will probably need to find a way to add sustainability to their ultra-aggressive approach, especially against a bowling attack of India's quality.

The second innings had shades of the England side of the 2021 tour of India, who struggled to score runs at a brisk pace and fell like ninepins. More than the result, what should disappoint Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum is that they couldn't follow their brand of cricket in the chase.

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Veterans like Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja scored big in the first innings and the young brigade of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Sarfaraz Khan followed suit in their second essay to bat England out of the Test match.

However, the seeds of the turnaround from the Indian team on the final two days of the Rajkot Test were sown on the third morning. They looked determined to set the tone despite not having arguably their biggest match-winner in home Tests available.

Probably for the first time in the series, the hosts did not need individual brilliance to bail them out like Visakhapatnam. It was a collective effort and an approach that also showed the learnings they got from the Hyderabad defeat.

From losing the first home Test after taking a first-innings lead of more than a hundred runs and losing experienced players to injuries, to registering the biggest Test win in their history, India have so far passed the test of character. They will now need to ensure they are consistently proactive to keep England at bay.

Test cricket is like a series of boxing bouts that add up eventually. The hopeless romantics of the longest format will remember how India delivered the knockout punch with their backs to the wall.