Test Match Special - Anderson inspires England to ’10/10’ Test win over India

Episode Date: February 9, 2021

As England take the first Test against India in Chennai, Michael Vaughan joins Jonathan Agnew to look back on a memorable win. They’re joined by Jack Leach and Joe Root, as well as Indian journalist Prakash Wakankar to see how Virat Kohli’s fourth defeat in a row as captain will go down in India.

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from BBC Radio 5 Live. Hello, welcome to the Test Match Special podcast. I'm Jonathan Agnew. England have wrapped up a famous victory in Chennai, beating India by 227 runs. They completed the victory midway through the afternoon session, helped by one of the greatest overs, Jimmy Anderson, as bold,

to take two top-order Indian wickets. Coming up, we'll get Michael Vaughn's thoughts as Joe Root matches him for the number of wins as England captain. We'll hear from Joe as well. Jack Leach will join us from Chennai to talk through what he said was his toughest test yet. And we'll also hear from Andy Zaltzun, Prakashwakanka, Jimmy Anderson and Virach Kohler. Follow England's tour of India via the TMS podcast with a new episode at the end of

each day's play. So England have won that first test match. They bowled India out for 192 on the 5th morning predominantly. They took five wickets before lunch for 105.3 of them falling to Jimmy Anderson, eventually bowling out for 192 to win by 227 runs. There was some resistance from Virach Coley who was the eighth man out for 72 and a very nice half century as well from Shubman Gill but otherwise England were on top throughout there was some good sharp catches taken as well but in some ways although the spinners clearly dominated

it'll be that reverse swing of James Anderson this morning they'll think will live long in the memory a fantastic performance three for 17 from 11 overs Jack Leach finished with four 476 to come back after the hammering they took from punt in the first innings, of course. Punt failed today made only 11. He was one of those that fell to Jimmy Anderson. So a terrific all-round performance by England.

There'll be aspects, one or two aspects of the game they'll look at, I'm sure, over the next three or four days. India, I think we've got rather more to look at over the next three or four days. We can discuss all of that with Michael Vaughn, who is gazing at me through his Zoom screen now. Well, it's funny, isn't it? I mean, we talked last night, Michael, at some length about the declaration

and how long it took of whether England had done the right thing. And we put out the reasons that I think we felt for that probably happening, didn't we? We suggested that it was probably because of the concern that Root might have had about the spinners if India did get on top and they got, and also the hardest. There are all sorts of things that actually came into it, which in a way now look rather irrelevant, don't they? Because England have won so easily. Yeah, generally in those situations,

it's not often that a team back out the last day. But, you know, I still think they didn't play the last session that well last night. I thought they could have been a bit more direct. But it's not about that. It's about how well they've played over the course of the four and a half days. That has been a 10 out of 10 performance. I honestly, apart from the last session when you could argue, could they have pulled out early, could they've got on with it a bit sooner,

that is the only thing that I could say has been slightly wrong with the England team. And that's only a small little thing. That's been a real high-class performance from 1 to 11. Dan Lawrence, I guess he'll be slightly disappointed that he didn't get a few more runs, but not every bat is going to get runs in every test match. Everyone contributed. You know, Olly Pope playing a little cameo in the second innings. Joss Butler's played his part.

Ben Stokes, back in the side, having not played any cricket, Jopra, Archer, just looked like they've been playing cricket for months and months. And I think that's a reminder to us all that, you know, when you arrive into a test series, just freshly, mind. You might not be fresh in your body in terms of cricket prepared and ready, but when you're fresh in your mind, it counts for a great deal, particularly when you're a high class player like the Ben Stokes and Joffa Arches of this world. Joe Root, he's a wonderful player and he's a fantastic captain. I think it's taken him time, and this last year and a half,

I think Chris Silverwood has just given him a massive boost and almost not taught him, but together they've worked out a formula of the way that they need to play. test match cricket and since Chris Silverwood has come in they've been so much more consistent in their approach to test match cricket they've lost the odd game but that's because the opposition have played better not because of the approach of the England side which is so important I just go back I just wish England had changed the mind and let Joff Butler play the second test match England has just gone one nil up just say to Josh Butler Joss it's three days and five days and

then you go home because this is very special you know to win it a test match in India takes some doing but if they can be a a team that wins a test series in India, a four-match series against this Indian side. Missed the one day, has missed the T20s, stay at home as soon as the test match series is finished or the result is ended. But I just want to see Josh Butler playing in that second test match.

I get the bubble. I get that they need time away from home, back at home, but when you've just gone one-nill-up, you've just played on the same venue, you're playing on the same venue in a few days' time. Surely you want to go again with exactly the same unit. It might be a change in the ball. Well, Jimmy might be replaced by Stuart Ball because of the ages and the bodies, etc., etc.

But surely, Akees, you'd want Joss to be playing on Saturday when you start again, would you? It's the problem with making these decisions at advance, isn't it? Because you wonder, I mean, as you've toured many, obviously, many, many, many times. When he's been away for a while, you have, you have, you do have your mind on that going home date after a bit. And he's had that in his mind and he's sold it to his wife and to his family. I'm coming home, you know, the Zoom calls to his kids and whatever, you know, I'm coming home, don't worry, I'll be back on that date. But you wonder, I wonder how he does, how he might feel.

But what about a negotiation? You just say, okay, I'm not coming home until potentially next week, but by the way, I'm staying at home for another couple of weeks. I'm not playing the one days and the T-20s. Yeah, no, I agree with you. I mean, I was going to say, you wonder how he feels or might feel tomorrow. He's made a big part of this as well. Yes.

He kept with it really well. and the role that you need and the momentum that you need to lose such a leading player I mean you just wonder whether he would really actually want to do it now or not play in the next test match they put so much

it's their life so much hard work and everything else special times you know from being around cricket for such a long period of time is that when you get an opportunity to do something and winning in India would be I mean the one that up three to play it will get tougher because India won't play

as badly as they have done this week. They're going to get better. We know that. And the pitches might just start to favour them a little bit more so. But to win a test series, I mean, Alistair Cut was a part of that test series captained in in 2012,

the one that I put that down as one of England's greatest ever test victories because of the fact that they'd gone 1-0 down. They came back and managed to win in Mumbai, then Calcutter, then got drawing the last test match, Joe Roots, debut test. Well, you only have to look at recent history, it's near on impossible to win in Indian conditions in a test series. So if you get

the chance to do so, surely you want to stay and be a part of it. It'll be a very interesting to see if there is any movement on that, won't it? Because the thought of packing up your suitcase tonight, might be on a flight tomorrow. Yeah. Pack your bags up and off you go. I'm just seeing my mate. He's my new favourite, Aggers, Jack Leach. I just think he epitomises everything about this England cricket team at the minute in test match cricket that he just character, isn't he? I mean, he's got Crohn's disease. He physically, he has his moments where he really struggles.

He talked a lot about depression last summer when he was in the bubble and not playing and so on. So there are areas. You think, oh, wow, okay, is this fellow strong enough to play test cricket? But, cricky, he's got some character, isn't he, to come back from where he's been, from being so ill, from having played so little cricket. He's just one of the nicest men in the world who works so hard at his game. he got a hammering in that first innings from Pant

and yet he's come back and we started it off that ball he got Roach Sharma out last night I mean that would have sent absolute shudders through the Indian dressing room yeah I mean it just epitomises what this test team are all about it's just character it's a unit they play together I know they're very close as a group

all really good pals which you know I don't think hugely important but I think it really helps if you can all get on you know And you take that onto the pitch and not just the 11 that are playing, but there's a group behind that aren't playing. Stuart Braw has been carrying the drinks this week. He'd have played a party.

He'd have been tactically talking to the bowlers throughout the week. Chris Silver, Graham Thorpe, Jonathan Trots out there, Chris Reid's out there. They look like England are a real together unit, which is great to see. I guess now it's almost like the pressure's on because, you know, you go on the look, you play so well and you kind of think, come on, can you do it again next week? and we all know that, you know, that toss is going to be so important. If England win the toss and bat, which obviously they will do, it could sway the series, you know, they'll have another great opportunity

because the way that they're playing and the confidence levels are so high, if they can bat well again, you know, they'll know that the pitch is going to deteriorate, and the other ball is going to reverse swing. If they don't, well, it's going to be a little bit more difficult. Jack Leach. Hello. Well, good day to you. How is that?

How do you feel? Yeah, no. very pleased that we got over the line and great win for the boys, a real team effort, probably the hardest sort of week of test match cricket I've experienced, so yeah, just really pleased we've got the win. Just, I mean, to have done it so quickly and so emphatically as well. No, I mean, it's a different sort of pace of cricket over here, I guess, you know, the first few days, obviously we set that out with the bat and I say we.

Rootie and Sivers and Stokesy and all the other boys. So, yeah, no, there's a great effort to get that big score and that really set the game up for us. And I just wonder, too, Jack, just talking to Michael about it, that ball at Bowlero hit Sharma last night. I mean, that was, in a way, just perfect, wasn't it? I mean, it was an unplayable, brutal ball. And what the Indians must have felt

sitting in the dressing room seeing that? Yeah. yeah no it's um that's what you want to do is a dumb spinner and um yeah no i'll um i'll have a watch back of that for sure um it was um it's a good feeling um no i haven't no but um yeah no it's just um great to great to get the wicket day and and um i thought our like our seam is the way they bowed jimmy it's clear unbelievable so um just really happy yeah and that was the big one today i mean for i mean we're talking about Jimmy Aniston a second undoubtedly but

you know if looking at the way things resumed today to get Pajara out would have been absolutely the number one aim I suspect and there you go you got him lovely ball again turned yeah yeah no yeah it was um it was good it was actually um turning from straight with that newer ball as well and

yeah I guess it was happening a little bit quicker with the newer ball and um yeah it's important to try and make the most of those moments and um yeah it was it was again a nice ball and uh really happy with that And things just seem to follow a plan today. Clearly, to keep Anderson back, get the ball a bit older, get the ball to reverse swing. Oh, look, it is reverse swinging.

As soon as he came on, that first over was incredible. I mean, to have someone like that in your side so that everyone has the whole bowling attack. Your Joffar Archer bowling quick, you know, even though it is India, and even though it's a crumbling pitch in which the spinners are, you know, I suppose traditionally expected to thrive. I mean, everyone in the attack can play a part. Yeah, no, exactly. right. I think we

had all bases covered and yeah, Jimmy's skilled, but unbelievable. He's done it for such a long time and we should never take that for Branted and yeah, job the pace as well. Just

really great, obviously, for me as a thinner to sort of pull at the other end to those guys. Yeah. Tell me how you got over that first innings, Jack, because Pant got after you there and it was pretty brutal stuff. wasn't it

and you'll be going in your mind you were thinking I'm supposed to getting wickets on here and everyone's expecting me to come on and turn the ball on this bloke just absolutely what I mean he won that battle didn't he

I mean he was he was ferocious how did you get that out of your head yeah I find it tricky I found it a tough experience as a fair I know that I'm going to get a bit of people wanting to target me but you know it's important

the school two days ago I felt like I could make so sometimes your basketball could go out the park or it could be a wicket so you have to take the rough with the food I guess and but I can't say that I enjoyed it and I did have a low evening on the third day but I've experienced that before knowing that you know the next day can be very different so you have to keep going and you know the boys really help me with that and yeah I'm very thankful for them yeah you're You're a tough cookie in there, Jack, aren't you, really? Yeah, I don't feel that really, but if you think so, Agers, then I'll go with that. Well, Jack, look, it's lovely to talk to you.

Well done. Congratulations, and good luck on Saturday. Thanks for talking to us. Thank you, Agass. Cheers. Cheers. Bye-bye. He obviously doesn't feel that he is this tough kind of character. He probably has a lot of self-doubt, as many cricketers do. but the most important aspect when you do have that self-doubt is to just trust your processes and trust what you've done in practice and your preparation.

You know, that evening sat in his hotel room having been dismantled by Rishab Pan, I'm sure he'd have had a conversation or two with a couple of his client who's very close to Joss Butler. I'm sure Joss would have had a brew with him that evening and say, come on, you'll come back tomorrow. It's just one ball, you'll get a wicket and then all of a sudden things get a little bit easier. And in the second innings, when it starts to do a bit more, it'd be your time. but that initial moment when you're sat in your room and you have been dismantled as a cricket it's not nice, it's like getting a first baller as a batter

and you think you've been embarrassed and you start questioning yourself can I play at this level? Can I face this kind of bowler? You know, that's the kind of demons and the talk that Jack Leach would have had to himself but it's his character that he keeps bouncing back. You only have to go back to Jack Leach

in that head-only performance to bat the way that he did under that amount of pressure. I know that's not the skill that he's picked for but that to me shows a huge amount. I actually sometimes look at bowlers of how they do bat because there are a lot of bowlers that are just bat in a free-spirited way and that's the way they play. But when you've got someone like Jack Leach,

it epitomises what he is about to kind of grit himself with the batting hand, knowing that he's going to wear a few and get hit and get few on the gloves. He does it for the team. Everything he does is for the team. And I think England have now got a group that they look like they've got every single player that plays working their role for the team perspective. That's a great place to be for an England team.

I don't think you're with me when I was, we're talking about Don Bess, who, you know, he keeps picking up wickets at the moment, extraordinary, but I mean, he's again, he's very inconsistent today in terms of length. And so I'm just going to talk, we should talk to the batsman Michael Vaughan. I'm talking to the former off spinner Michael Vaughn.

I was just trying to work out why. I just, because he's not, he's not been like that really in the past. I mean, he bowled in South Africa last winter. He bowled, you know, really tidy, tight spells. And I just wonder if, it's only a guess, but the old bowler in me one is they're just trying to make him

flick that ball a bit too hard at the moment they're really trying to get some extra revolutions on that ball and he's just lost his control yeah I mean in the first innings he had great control it's the best I'd seen in bowl he bowed beautifully he had a bit of fortune with a couple of his wickets but the second thing is he obviously just had one of those spells that it didn't quite come out of the hands

as well as he would have liked and I guess when you're bowling for something like Virac Koli you can freeze up a little bit you know, and get a bit intimidated. He's a young off spinner, he's a working progress. England has to stick with him, though, I guess they've got to keep going with him because at the minute he's on a roll and he's getting wickets with balls where, on other occasions,

you'd suggest that the ball deserves to go out of the ground and they may start to do so if he keeps continuously bowling some really bad deliveries. But England's got to keep sticking with him. He's got, again, like Jack Leach, a great character. You know, he hangs around with the bat. He's good in the field. I guess there's that temptation of throwing Mowing Ali in there, but you can't be throwing a moan alley in there

that's played no cricket at all when you've got an offspring at the cot wickets in three consecutive test matches even though he's been a little bit inconsistent he's contributing with the batting hand and as I said in the field so he's a working progress England have just got to stick with him

meantime last one for you Joe Roots equal to your record Michael yes it's great I mean he's I'm sure you were sending him a message later absolutely will do I mean I've always said with Joe that he's pretty much I played at the same club we used the same bat for many months many years he's played at the same county

bat's right-handed he's a bit better than me then he went into captaincy he kind of coffered me but every time he's copied me he surpassed it very quickly and become a lot lot better and that was with the batting hand and I'm pretty sure no question he's going to get at least one or two more victories but with

the way that he's captaining and the age on his side he could end up with an amount of victories that potentially could never be surpassed will he beat you over the next month questionable questionable if he's very good at tossing or should I say calling yes if he's calling at the toss that kind of does not go the way that he would like

potentially not but that day-night test match either way it's going to be an interesting one for England that's the third game I just going to go past it I just think they're on to something special this year they have got something going this England test match team I think when you go back to around 2016 17 we could feel that the one day team we're on to something and we were all talking about wait a minute this is on the world cup win is on this is the first time I'm looking at this team and thinking wait a minute this year it's on it's definitely on beating India at home no they do that anyway than have done for the last couple of times but that

Australia ashes at the end of the year that we're all looking at I know this is very very important in India but we all want those ashes back and realistically this is the time that we start looking at the England team go it could be on that's getting something going agers right lovely Thank you, Michael. Very much indeed. We'll catch up with you on Saturday. Ben Stokes has won the moment of the match award. And that's that brilliant catch that he took low to his right. It was an absolutely fantastic moment, a beautiful reflex catch. And so he's gone off with a big trophy. Now then, well, Prakash Wakanka called this three or four days ago. I think you saw the writing on the wall, Prakash,

and we didn't want to get too carried away with ourselves here. But you were right. What did you make of that? today? Well, first of all, thank you for acknowledging that I was right. You don't do that often enough. No, I don't. I try and avoid it wherever possible. It doesn't happen very often, Prakash. Oh, come on. We'll talk about that another time. But yes, I mean, I did feel that this was going to be over before T. And the reasons were simple, obvious. I don't really need to go into them. All of us know them well, deteriorating wicked, not a great amount of application, I dare say. and the England team which realized very clearly that there was no way they were going to lose this game.

And I think when you have that behind you, you just do that little bit extra. What I'm pleased about is to see Shubman Gill once again do well. Virat Koli probably indicating that he's now getting into a little bit of touch. I'm worried about Ajinki Rahane. I mean, he seems to be in the old binary form, either it's 100 or nothing. And that's a little bit of a concern for me

in terms of where the Indian Vice Captain is going. But otherwise, a absolutely stellar bossing performance from England, because I think if you look at all the Sessions, Zaggers, they won, what, 90% of them by a distance? So, terrific performance. I don't know what the wicket next door is going to be for the second test, but if it's anything like this, and like Michael said, if Root calls correctly,

Australia might be first getting happy, and then England might actually go on and do something completely different and book a place in that final what are people offering as explanations for this then from the Indian perspective who have not had a good game I'm taking I keep saying I'm taking nothing away from England

at all you go there and you beat India crikey but you do have to be honest and say that they were not that that full strength team the bossy team that just won in Australia the brave hard way didn't turn up no no they didn't and I think if you look at it I guess one of the reasons why what happened in Australia happened was, I think there was a huge amount of adversity, one.

Two, I think there was a degree of consistency from those that were performing. Now, if you look at the second innings for India, both Rishapant and Washington Sundar, who were sort of the two players who one thought, having done well in the first innings, would be able to bat well. Neither of them got going. And yet again, Jimmy Anderson. I mean, who would have thought, based on the first inning's performance, that he would pick up three and three vital wickets in the second inning? So I think it was more about England playing exceptionally well. A lot of things coming off for England, coupled with the fact that I think India,

I don't want to use the word complacency because I don't think modern-day test cricketers can afford to be complacent. Maybe there was a slight overstatement of confidence possible that we'll do it anyway. and then as the innings progressed and route, I think really buried India with that double hundred up front on day one and two. And after that, England just didn't look back. India will have some middle order concerns. Well, they will. I mean, just to go through what the sort of things they might talk about.

I mean, there is that question of Kulip Yadav, whether he should have played and whether he'll play in the next one or not. Instead of Washington and Sonoma, who, of course, scored really well in the first inning. His panty looks such an amazing bats, and he wouldn't be happy with the way that he got out in the second innings. And his keeping is obviously a little bit dicey at the moment. I mean, you can see there are areas that people, because there will be a reaction in India to this, of course. And I suspect those two particularly going to be areas that the finger will be pointing. Yes, so I'll be very surprised if Shadab Nadim plays second test, frankly, because. while taking nothing away from the gentleman,

the fact is I think he didn't pull his weight either with bat or ball in the test match. I would be, it's difficult to replace Washington Sundar. Who do you play in his stead? I wonder, I don't think they have the courage to let Rohit Sharma sit out, though personally I would love to see K.L. Rahul back in the squad because he is good, he's solid,

but I think they'll persist with the top four. I can't see Rahane making way for anybody. So they'll be hoping that some of these guys can turn it around. I actually don't see more than one change in the second test match, which is potentially the replacement of Shadab Nadim, assuming that Jadeja is still unfit. Yeah. And Koli, meanwhile, at least he got runs there.

I mean, from Ingram's perspective, at least he didn't get 100. But from his point of view, you know, he'd be disappointed at the defeat. But he played nicely. I mean, there's not to be too much tundering, I wouldn't have thought about the Indian captain. No, I don't think so. I mean, look, we all know the class that these players like Coley and Williamson and Root and Smith are in. And we know that if they go through a little bit of a backpatch, it's only a question of when and not if. So I think Verrat has once again batted well.

And for him, he'll be particularly pleased that he's done it in the second innings, because his second inning average is much, much lower than his first innings. So he'll be happy with that. I think the biggest worry for me is frankly, Ajinkar Rahane, because he is, unfortunately, in this game 1 and 0, you can say he got out very early, never really settled. But, you know, he's got to carry that weight, right? It can't be Pujara every time. And therefore, I'm a little worried about Ajinkia. He'll probably come back and get a good score on the next test match.

But India are going to have to do some serious thinking, and Ravi Shastri is going to think of a different badge from the 30s. that he talked about after the Adelaide debacle saying wear that on your chest and go out and fight, he's going to have to think of some different language, more motivating words. And I think this site can come back. They will want to come back disparate. Prakash, thanks so much for joining us. You have a good couple of days. We'll join you on Saturday.

And now, Joe Root, good afternoon to you. What a performance. Thank you. Yeah, very good performance. Brilliant. Really proud of the group. We've performed very well throughout these five days. You know, to be stood here at 1-0-0 up in the series so far is a really good feeling.

So, yeah, very proud. I think you are. And of all the test wins now, and you've equaled Michael Vaughn. Of course, I'm sure he'll remind you that later, or you remind him one of the two. But I wonder where that particular test win ranks. Yeah, I'm sure it'd be right up there. I think it was always important that we started well coming here. It was a huge series, India, full of confidence on the back of what they've achieved in Australia

and a very fine team at home. So for us to perform like that is exceptional. Really proud of the group. But we delivered our game plan exactly how we wanted to. We've got big first innings runs. We've got long periods of time. We put a lot of work into their bowlers and them in the field. And then we were very smart about it.

We took to any wicket. So, you know, that's a good marker now for the rest of the series. I don't think we were perfect. I think we can do things slightly better. But again, that's an exciting place to be. having been sat there one-nil up in out here in the year. And the form you're in, Joe, I mean, wow. I mean, what's it like to be batting like you are at the moment?

Yeah, it feels good at the minute. You want to keep just riding the wave, keep getting yourself stuck in, giving yourself a chance at the start to get in and then just try and be ruthless and really benefited from having a few good conversations about my batting with a few ex-players and working with guys like Jacques Callis out in Sri Lanka

and just being really realistic about where things are at. Off the back of it, I think I've seen some of the best of myself. I do think these conditions probably suit my game, facing a lot of spin. And it's nice to then be able to get in and really make it count. So hopefully I can carry that forward for the next three games as well. Did you know you were getting your 200 up with a six, by the way? There was some conversation about that.

No, I had no idea. I thought I still needed a couple more runs, so it's a little bit of a muted celebration, but still, yeah, a little strange one. And this morning, when the plans, well, let's go back to last night, first of all, you've been aware that everyone was saying, what's going on?

Why haven't been rude declared? Perhaps you can just talk us through the thought process there, so we know from the horse's mouth what happened. Because at tea, everything seemed to be moving along, motoring along for, you know, presumably for a sort of declaration fairly soon after. Why didn't you choose to do that? Yeah, well, the idea was to try and get to 400

and then we could go out and have a little bit of fun. Unfortunately, it didn't quite materialise like that and we didn't quite score as freely as we would have liked. But having spent the most time out there on that wicket, having batted on it throughout different parts of the game, I knew that the deterioration of it was going to be able to create 10 chances for us on that last day. And I wanted to make sure that there was only two,

two results possible going into it and make sure that with that in mind it was take a lot of pressure off our bowlers and you know they delivered extremely well under that I also wanted the ball to be nice and hard when we turned up this morning so that that was still going to be a big factor in things making sure it go up and down for the seamers and that extra bit of bounce for the spin so you know we sat here right now and we still got half the day left it it doesn't seem to be that much of an issue. No. It isn't as things turn out. Of course it's not. What is an issue though, Joe? I'll just ask you, it's a last one. Josh Butler's going home tomorrow, isn't he? I mean, is that still going to happen? I mean, is he happy about that? I mean, I know why we've

been through it, but it just seems, you know, you win one up and what it must be like in the dressing room and so on. I mean, is there any inclination of him to stay? Yeah, look, it's a little bit frustrating, but it's where we are. And then, you know, the current times that we're in. As a captain, of course, you want all the US players available for every single game. We found that throughout this winter, that that's not going to be possible. We've got guys currently at home that may have featured within this squad and within this game. But that's part and parcel of this sort of COVID times that we're playing in right now.

All we've got to do is make sure we make the most of the opportunities we get. when they are playing, they make sure that they take that chance and they put in performances. And you know, Josh's three test matches out in these conditions, you talk about Keepers being instrumental and having such an influence on games. I thought his performances in these three test matches have been exceptional. That's probably the best we've ever seen in Keep. So I'm really pleased for him. And of course, I'm sure he'd love to stay out here. But at the same time, you know, he's got to rest up and make sure that when he's, gets his chance to play for England again.

He's fresh and ready to go and performing at his absolute best. Many congratulations, Joe. It was wonderful watching you back. Thank you. And congratulations to the team for that outstanding win. And thank you for talking to us. Talk you soon. Cheers, thanks, Agas.

Bye-bye, Joe. Thank you. There you go. That's the explanation from the horse's mouth about yesterday afternoon. And as he said, mid-afternoon, it kind of doesn't matter anymore, does it? But it's an interesting talking point at the time. And so let's finish with one or two little bits and pieces from you. Well, England's sixth consecutive away victory is now their joint second longest run of consecutive victories away from home.

You've got to go back to before the First World War for the other two. They won seven in a row, four in Australia, and then three in South Africa from 1911 to 1914. And before that, back in the 1880s, they won four in Australia and then two against a very weak South Africa in Tesla. that I think we're only retrospectively given test status. So, yes, this is England's best run away from home since the First World War. Jack Leach is fascinating second inning stats. One thing I really like today statistically was him getting Pujara out. Pujara hadn't been dismissed by a left-arm finger spinner since February 2017.

In that time, he'd scored 375 runs without being dismissed by left-arm spinners. in something like 140 overs of left-arm spin. It's only the sixth time a left-arm finger spinner has dismissed Pujara in his career. He averages almost 140 against left-arm spin. So that was a key wicket for England. And Leach in second innings, we've been looking at his second inning statistics. He now has just 20.0 in second innings of test matches.

36 wickets in 11 innings. In fourth innings, he's now taken at least three wickets and his last six fourth innings in a row and in terms of his second innings average looked at all spinners around the world in the last 50 years going back to 1970. There are 77 spinners who've taken 25 on more wickets in the second innings of Tess in that time.

Only one has a better second innings average than Jack Leach currently has and that is Colin Funky Miller who played for Australia around about the turn of the millennium he averaged 18, 41 wickets in second and Leach is ahead of Muralithyrn in third place, Jadaja, who India missed so terribly in this game in fifth place. Bish and Betty, then Shane Warren, then Ashwin. So that gives some context to how well Leach has performed for England.

He spent a lot of these tests in Asia, and he has delivered regularly for England. Dominic Bess had a curious match, having a curious winter, but he's taken 17 wickets and three tests, average 22. A wicket every 42 balls back in the summer, just eight wickets, average 55, and a strike. great of 102. So he's having a productive time, albeit without yet finding that consistency that we've been talking about. Veracoli has lost four tests in a row as India captain. It's only the fifth time in India captain has lost four or more tests in a row. It happened twice under Donie's leadership, one of them at that four-nil defeat by England in 2011. So it's one of England's great away wins, as I said earlier on, India. Since they lost England in 2012,

in the 34 test they've played since then have only lost once so this really is a absolutely spectacular victory and Joe Root who you were just talking to is to repeat the stat from the other day 684 runs in three tests this winter the 10th most productive

three test sequence in test match history and not a bad way to celebrate your 100th test is it? There we go and Jimmy Anderson as well is the first bowler to bowl out two in Indian top six players since Makaya and Tini in 2008. His last three overseas tests, one test in South Africa last winter and two tests this winter. 18 wickets average nine.

And we looked at his last 66 tests. He's averaging 21. It's a story of absolutely remarkable improvement over his career. Follow England's Tour of India via the TMS podcast with a new episode at the end of each day's play. Thanks, Andy. In a while we'll get the reaction from Virac Koli. But let's hear from Jimmy Anderson first, though. He bowled a superb over to dismiss Shubman Gill and Ajinka Rahani.

I didn't really do anything out of the ordinary from the plans that we had. It's got lucky, really. With a couple that hit some bare patches, had a bit of reverse as well. So we knew that we just had to keep hitting those areas as much as possible. And hopefully we'd get a couple to keep low or deviate. And we got three or four throughout the day to do that. So, yeah, a bit of luck involved as well, but I was happy with how it went.

To be honest, I was more expecting maybe an LB or one to keep low, or maybe even a court mid-wicket with one that stuck in the pitch a little bit. But it's always nice to see the stumps cartwheeling out of the ground. It doesn't happen very often at my age, so yeah, really happy that it did today. It just sort of tops off a really good performance

throughout the five days. I thought it was a really solid and complete performance from the whole team. Let's hear from the Indian captain, Virat Koli. I think the test probably shifted in their favour when we batted in the first innings because we were looking to bat long and we were not able to do that. And I don't think there was enough application shown by us as a batting unit. Something that we take a lot of pride in. And yeah, we look these miles.

and all these kind of things is not something that we think about. We think partnerships and we think putting the team into good positions. So whether someone has scored a century or not in the last five games is not something that matters to us. We want to be able to have long partnerships and in that process if people get to a big milestone and carry on, it's good. Even if someone had gotten 100 in either innings, still we were pretty much behind the game. So that's what we need to understand rather than thinking about milestones and and what we haven't been able to achieve as batsmen in terms of scoring centuries and all that stuff. For us, it's about trying to win a game of cricket.

And if we need to play solid cricket, we should be able to do that as batsmen as well. There's just not one way to play the game. And as a batting unit, we understand that quite well. And our endeavour in the future games is going to be long partnerships and not necessarily focus on getting under it as individuals. We don't jump the gun. We don't come to conclusions too early as a side. focus is the next test match and bouncing back into the series and something that we take a lot

of pride in as a team so our focus is going to be that what's set on the outside what is perceived what is being discussed is something that that doesn't bother us at all we've never really focused on that and we won't do that moving forward as well as a team and yeah you could say they are well prepared but if to say they are better prepared than us in our own conditions is is not an accurate assessment because I feel that if you look at the second innings when the ball was really turning and bouncing

both the sides were pretty much similar in terms of how they went about their second innings and I think more of that challenge in the future games maybe you can analyze then whether we are better prepared or they are better prepared and whether this is our toughest challenge or not

we are not jumping any guns yet and we are just focused on playing good cricket and winning test matches. We're back again on Saturday morning, the cricket social on air from 6.30. Alastair Cook is part of our team. Listen live via the BBC Sport website and app where you'll be able to see plenty of reaction to this test match. And of course, there'll be a new podcast on this feed

at the close of every day's play. Look out for a Tuffus and Vaughn special as well, and we'll see you at the weekend. For more insight from Jonathan Agnew, Michael Vaughn and the rest of the Test Match special team, subscribe and listen to the TMS podcast. via the BBC Sounds app. I'm Bella Mackey.

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