Anderson & co demolish India for 78 after Kohli's "bat first" call, England 120 for no loss
Leeds, Aug 25: James Anderson's artistic morning spell in an inspired English bowling performance blew away India for an inexplicable 78 as the hosts took complete control by stumps with a dominant batting show on the first day of the third Test here on Wednesday.
If England pacers got their bearings right after the fifth day brain fade at the Lord's, India's famous batting unit's technique against swing bowling was laid bare by Anderson and his band which skittled them in little over 40 overs.
Then it was turn for local boy Haseeb Hameed (60 batting, 130 balls) and Rory Burns (52 batting, 125 balls) to get back to form ending the day at 120 for no loss with batting getting much easier as the day progressed. They now lead by 42 runs.
Skipper Virat Kohli won a rare toss and despite the overcast conditions decided to bat first which in the end turned out to be a not so great decision as Anderson's injured new ball partner Stuart Broad tweeted about how the Headingley track has behaved over the years.
Anderson ((8-5-6-3) then did what he does best -- messed with the minds of the top-order batsmen in a sharp eight-over morning spell getting three wickets and then passing on the baton to the younger lot which didn't disappoint him.
Craig Overton (3/14 in 10.3 overs), Ollie Robinson (2/16 in 10 overs) and Sam Curran (2/27 in 10 overs) then tightened the noose with even Rohit Sharma (19 off 105 balls) finding it difficult to get a move on even after playing 100 balls.
Ajinkya Rahane scored 18 but had it not been for 16 extra runs, the embarrassment would have been more like the Adelaide Test match
It was a shoddy performance as the pitch although termed "tacky" by England skipper Joe Root didn't have any exaggerated off-the pitch movement that could have troubled the batsmen.
It was just that Anderson turned his stock ball (outswinger) into a shock ball during that dream spell which left Indians gasping for breath.
Having seen an in-form KL Rahul (0) leave the outswingers alone, Anderson started with inswingers before unleashing one with a wobbly seam with a hint of outward movement as the opener went for a drive and became one of the five catches that Jos Buttler took.
Cheteshwar Pujara (1) is plain and simple out of form and clueless about his off-stump as a classic outswinger found his edge.
Then Anderson did what has been his day job for past seven years. Dismiss Indian skipper Kohli (7) for fun. The Indian skipper had tweaked his front-foot movement a bit as it didn't go across off-stump.
However the eagerness to over-compensate as Sachin Tendulkar recently pointed out made him jab at the ball to make it 21 for 3.
Rohit did display impeccable defence but once Rahane was out at the stroke of lunch with Robinson getting one to rear up awkwardly and Rishabh Pant playing away from his body without any feet movement, he didn't have resources to accelerate.
But credit should also go to the English bowlers who extracted every bit of juice that was available during the 40.4 overs. India lost their last six wickets for 22 runs and this time, the Indian tail had no pleasant surprises in their kitty. This had more to do with sensible bowling from England pacers, who bowled fuller length to bowl out India for their second lowest first day score in last 34 years.
The lowest first day score for India was back in 1987 when fiery Jamaican Patrick Patterson scared the hell out of Dilip Vengsarkar's team, skittling them out for 75 at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi.
The batting performance certainly increased pressure on the bowlers and it didn't help that veteran Ishant Sharma looked completely out of sorts as Kohli gave him the new ball. He ran in gingerly and there was no sting in his bowling helping Hameed and Burns to settle down quickly.
Once the sun started beating down and made batting easier, they played some lovely shots square off the wicket, helping themselves with half-centuries as India will have a huge task of saving the Test match from hereon.
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How C.V. Raman’s Discovery is Saving Millions of Lives Today
Every year on 28 February, India celebrates National Science Day. It is the day we remember Sir C. V. Raman, an Indian physicist who made a discovery in 1928 that changed the world. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for this work, becoming the first Asian to win that honour in science. The Government of India declared 28 February as National Science Day in 1986 to honour this achievement and to keep the spirit of scientific thinking alive in our country. This year, 2026, the theme is "Women in Science: Catalysing Viksit Bharat," reminding us that India's growth depends on every single mind, regardless of gender. But today, let us talk about something that most people do not know. The discovery Raman made while staring at the blue sea is quietly saving your life right now, inside hospitals and medical laboratories across the world.
Let us first understand what the Raman Effect actually is, in the simplest way possible. Raman noticed that when light passes through a clear material, a tiny portion of that light changes its colour slightly. Not much, just a little. In fact, only about 1 in every 10 million particles of light called photons changes. But that tiny change is enough to tell scientists exactly what a substance is made of. Think of it like a fingerprint. Just like no two people have the same fingerprint, no two molecules change light in exactly the same way. So when scientists shine a laser, which is a focused beam of light, on any material, they can read those tiny light changes like reading a name tag. This reading is called Raman Spectroscopy, and it is the most powerful identification tool science has ever created.
Now, why does this matter to a common person sitting at home? Because this technology has quietly walked into your nearest hospital and started doing things that were once considered impossible. Let us take cancer as an example. Detecting cancer early is the difference between life and death. Earlier, doctors had to remove a tissue sample, send it to a lab, and wait for days to get results. Today, Raman spectroscopy can examine living cells and tissues without cutting, without harming, without removing anything from the body. It reads the molecular fingerprint of the tissue and tells doctors immediately whether a cell is healthy or cancerous. This means faster diagnosis, less pain for the patient, and more time to begin treatment. For millions of families who have watched a loved one battle cancer, this is not just science. It is hope delivered at the speed of light.
The medical revolution does not stop at cancer. In pharmacies and drug manufacturing companies, Raman spectroscopy is used to check whether a medicine is pure and genuine. Fake medicines are a serious problem in India and across the world. People buy tablets trusting that what is written on the label is inside the tablet. Raman spectroscopy can verify this in minutes without even opening the packet. The laser passes through the packaging, reads the molecular fingerprint of the medicine inside, and confirms whether it is real or fake. This one application alone is protecting millions of people from consuming counterfeit drugs every single day.
In blood testing, in identifying kidney stones without surgery, in checking whether a wound is healing properly at a cellular level, in detecting early signs of diabetes through the skin without even taking a blood sample, Raman spectroscopy is showing up everywhere. Scientists and doctors are working on handheld Raman devices that a local doctor in a small town can use to diagnose patients on the spot, without needing expensive lab equipment or long waiting periods. In a country like India where medical infrastructure in rural areas is still developing, this could genuinely change how millions of people receive healthcare.
All of this began with one man refusing to accept a simple answer. Raman looked at the blue sea and asked why. That one question, followed by seven years of hard work, gave the world a tool that now fights cancer, catches fake medicines, and is slowly making quality healthcare reachable for every Indian, rich or poor, city or village. This National Science Day 2026, with its focus on women in science, is also a reminder that the next Raman could be a young girl sitting anywhere in this country, asking her own "why." The only thing she needs is for the world around her to stop saying "don't ask" and start saying "go find out."
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
