As India came out to bat against England after Kohli won the toss at Leeds, there was an instant cataclysm that followed. For the second time in the last nine months, India collapsed for a score less than 100.
James Andersonβs renewed strategy worked wonders in the opening over as he got the better of KL Rahul for naught. It felt like a long list of fallen heroes as Cheteshwar Pujara followed suit in quick succession.
Anderson struck gold when he removed Virat Kohli again in a similar fashion as the Indian captain dithering on the fringes of indecisiveness nicked an outswinging delivery straight into the safe arms of Jos Buttler.
Rahane and Rohit stitched together the majority of resistance for the fourth wicket as the duo added 35 runs, with Ollie Robinson snuffing out the resistance once and for all.
The fall of Rahane triggered another collapse and even before the tail could realize the English bowlers were all over them. Rishabh Pant was removed by Robinson for 2 while Rohit Sharma was the next to depart with the highest score in the hut that read 19.
It didnβt take the English bowlers much time to clean up the tail, as the last four could only add 11 runs to the tally before India being skittled out for 78.
Craig Overton and James Anderson stood out three wickets each, while Sam Curran and Ollie Robinson claimed two each to put India to shame.
Twitter seemed furious as the Indians could barely hold it together and after a remarkable victory in the preceding Test, they collapsed like a house of cards. The micro-blogging site was filled with hilarious memes and angry words, to sum up, Indiaβs woeful performance against the English bowling.
Since 2000, India have twice been bowled out for less than 100 after winning the toss and batting first:
Advertisement76 a/o v South Africa, Ahmedabad 2008
78 a/o v England, Headingley, TodayOnly Pakistan have achieved this undesirable feat more often this century – 5 occasions. #ENGvIND
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 25, 2021
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Rohit Sharma finds the way to get himself out more than any bowlers.
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) August 25, 2021
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#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/RjUtsURpJm
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) August 25, 2021
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Cricket is a mad game. England rampant! #ENGvIND
— Isa Guha (@isaguha) August 25, 2021
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This is the first time ever India had no player reaching 20 in the first innings of a Test match.#ENGvIND
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) August 25, 2021
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ππ€πͺπ£: Bouncebackability
ππ²π³πΆπ»πΆππΆπΌπ»: the capacity to recover quickly from a setback.
Advertisement"England showed bouncebackability in the first innings at Headingley after losing at Lord's"#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/35WI7ypN1s
— England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) August 25, 2021
I was gone for an hour!! I seem to have missed a bit… #ENGvIND #TestCricket π pic.twitter.com/4ikie35eHb
— Sarah Taylor (@Sarah_Taylor30) August 25, 2021
78 is now India's 9th lowest total in Test cricket.
And their third lowest in England.#EngvInd #EngvsInd#IndvEng #IndvsEng— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 25, 2021
Imagine the reactions had England been bowled out for 78 batting first in India.
But somehow a turning wicket is poor but a seaming pitch is difficult challenging etc.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT) (@ovshake42) August 25, 2021
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India 78 all out. That was superb by England. The bowlers took their turn: Anderson first, Robinson either side of lunch, then both Overton and Curran on a hat-trick.
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) August 25, 2021
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