England lost the Rajkot Test by 434 runs and conceded a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Chasing 557 to win, England’s fourth innings folded for a paltry 122 in 39.4 overs. It was a listless batting display as no one managed to score a half-century. Fast bowler Mark Wood was the top scorer with 33.
With this humiliating loss, the Three Lions conceded a 2-1 lead to India in the five-match Test series and drew severe criticism from fans and experts alike.
After the game, former England skipper Michael Vaughan slammed the English cricketers for their over-optimism, claiming that they are disrespectful to Test cricket.
During the second Test in Vizag, veteran pacer James Anderson said that England had the batting to chase down targets of around 600. However, they succumbed to a 106-run defeat while chasing 399.
After the third day’s play in Rajkot, Ben Duckett replied with “the more the better” when asked about a realistic target that England can chase down.
Moreover, Duckett credited England’s Bazball approach for India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s swashbuckling century (214* off 236 balls) in the Rajkot Test.
“Listen to them, and you would think nothing is ever wrong. Jimmy Anderson said they would chase 600 in Vizag. Ben Duckett said “the more the better” in terms of their target this week, but they fell 434 short. Duckett also reckons they deserve credit for the way Yashasvi Jaiswal is batting, as if no player in history has ever played an attacking shot.
“They talk about not playing for the draw, but to me that’s disrespectful to Test cricket. The draw is a crucial part of the game, and in five-Test contest has often provided the bedrock of some great series victories,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“They have to be careful that people around don’t think they are smug, or above their station. Root’s shot was another reminder that they are in a bubble. All that matters is their dressing room, and fun. There is a bit more to Test cricket than that,” he added.
Vaughan appreciated England’s effort to make Test cricket exciting while also adding that Ben Stokes and his men need to focus on results.
“This England team is hell bent on doing things their way, and “saving Test cricket”. They are giving Test cricket a shot in the arm because they are so exciting. But ultimately they have to be better than that now. They didn’t win in New Zealand, they didn’t win the Ashes, and if they carry on like this, they are going to lose in India. As a team, you are judged on series victories,” Vaughan remarked.
England will have a challenge on their hands when they take on India in the fourth Test, slated to get underway on February 23 in Ranchi.