“You don’t win many matches when you collapse like that” – Alastair Cook goes on hard England’s batting display on Day 3.

In a remarkable twist of events, England experienced a significant batting collapse during Day Three of the IND vs ENG 3rd Test, much to the chagrin of former cricketer Alastair Cook. Commencing the day at 207/2, expectations were high for the visitors, only for the Ben Stokes-led team to lose the remaining eight wickets for a mere 112 runs, concluding their innings at 319.

The early innings displayed promise for England, particularly with Ben Duckett’s aggressive approach. Duckett achieved a century in just 88 balls, solidifying his status as the fastest English batter to achieve this milestone in India. However, the team failed to maintain momentum, as Duckett could only add 20 runs to his overnight total of 133, paving the way for a collective batting disappointment. Ben Stokes, offering some resistance with 41 runs, stood nearly alone as the rest of the batting lineup struggled to surpass even 20 runs individually. Despite Duckett’s commendable innings, England found themselves trailing India by 126 runs following their first innings.

Expressing his dismay, Cook openly criticized England’s lackluster batting performance. In an interview with Sky Sports, he emphasized the necessity for consistent excellence in Test matches, acknowledging India’s remarkable turnaround from their poor performance the preceding day. Cook highlighted the challenges of winning matches after such a collapse and stressed the importance of sustained performance in Test cricket

Cook said “My shout [from yesterday] of ‘they could score 800 tomorrow is not looking too good – I’m only 481 off. Is it an opportunity lost? England have been poor with the bat – they’ve lost eight wickets for 116 today and you don’t win many matches when you collapse like that in the first innings, To win Test matches you have to be good for such long periods of time. India were poor yesterday but they’ve been very, very good today.”