File photo of Joe Root.
This morning must have been tough for you if you are an England cricket fan. It might hurt but let's take a look at some painful hard-hitting fact on what transpired over the past two days at the newly-refurbished Motera stadium. Losing a Test match in just two days, getting all out twice -- that's 20 wickets -- in just 78 overs, even worse is the failure to put 200 runs board in two innings combined; nothing about the shambolic loss against India in the third Test feels pleasant to the current world champions.
After all, it was England's age-old — in fact archaic to an irritating extent — flaw of succumbing to spinners that led to their downfall in a historic day/night Test match, which only promised epic things with all the glitz and glory that was built prior to the game.
Of course, former England players and experts have taken a hard look at the pitch and questioned its merit. But losing a Test over two days is still unfathomable and made fans wonder was it the first time that the creators of the game had to endure such a drubbing. And the answer, sadly, is yes: England have actually conceded a game in just two days before and the last and the only time this happened before was in 1921. Their familiar foe Australia decimated the Poms by the second day in the second Ashes Test played in Nottingham.
It will be like rubbing salt on a freshly-opened wound but that abstruse defeats had its parallel drawn with the Motera defeat. In fact, it's England batting that was emulated on the opening day of both the Tests. Believe it or not, England were bundled out for exactly 112 in the first innings in Nottingham as they did at the Motera.
While, 99 years, 8months and 26 days into the future, Axar Patel (6/38) caught them in his spin web and ensured that the visiting side is put out of misery, back in the 1921 English summer Nottingham it was Aussie pacer Jack Gregory (5/58) who wreaked havoc with his early morning darting deliveries.
And unlike Ahemadabad Test, where England put up a fight by restricting India to 145 in reply -- thanks to the brilliant bowling spell by unlikely bowling hero Joe Root (5/8), the Nottingham Test opening day brought no respite for the hosts as Australia doubled England's total with a 232.
And England batting unit came a cropper yet again in both the cases, with an almost identical chaotic display. While Jonny Douglas-led vintage English side could only put 147 on the board, Joe Root and men were a team of just 81 runs. Allowing both Aussies and India the bragging rights of a morale-boasting win!
