After the 246-run loss in Visakhapatnam, Alastair Cook complained about losing the toss. It made for an obvious rant. The general consensus is that you do need to win the toss and bat first to put the hosts under any pressure on these pitches, and England had done as much in Rajkot.

So, when Cook called correctly on Saturday in Mohali, he had no doubts about what to do. The travelling media contingent cheered, more in relief than joy perhaps.

What happened thereafter came as a rude surprise though, almost like when a youngster is pulled off from bed on a nippy morning and told to study, not watch cricket.

India’s pacers – Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav – were on the money from the word go. Their fielders were not. It was a repeat of Rajkot. Ravindra Jadeja dropped Cook at third slip, and social media timelines across the country revisited Southampton in 2014, when something similar had happened in the third Test of the series.

A horror start

Cook was then again dropped at midwicket, this time Ravichandran Ashwin grabbing at the ball too early, or maybe he spotted it too late. Either way, he made a mess of it.

Virat Kohli’s face told a story as the camera panned to him. As is his wont, he should have abused for he would have gotten away with it, as there were not even school kids sitting in the empty stands at Mohali.

Ashwin misfielded too, completing a horrid morning for himself. As if driving home the point, he was not the first spinner to be introduced into the attack – it was Jayant Yadav.

It made for a peculiar sight – for the second time in this series, India were not at the races when asked to field early morning. It was as if their minds were set on batting first, and losing the toss was a jolt to them, much like it would have been to the visitors.

More importantly though, it took the heat off a weird team selection – KL Rahul pulling out due to an aggravated injury and Parthiv Patel designated as opener, with Karun Nair making his Test debut. Kohli picked a 20th different playing eleven for the 20th successive Test. Meanwhile, you wanted to wonder why Gautam Gambhir was left out of this squad, if Rahul was nursing an injury from Visakhapatnam?

Awakening from a slumber

Before you could ponder further, something changed at the drinks’ break. Maybe, in the private world of the team huddle, Kohli did let it rip. Or maybe, a cool drink woke them up from their slumber. You can bet good money on the former, yet crucially enough, India struck back. Then, it was England’s turn to play some astonishing cricket.

From 51/1, it became 51/2 and then 51/3. Joe Root played a horrendous shot against Jayant Yadav, while Cook went after too wide a delivery, Ashwin’s very first ball. Two wickets, 0 runs, seven balls. If England do lose this Test, their two premier batsmen should revisit these dismissals and shake their heads in disbelief.

“The pitch is not turning much yet, and it is still easy to play the spinners. England should have scored more,” said Umesh Yadav after the day’s play. Ouch!

But, the English fans watching will want to ask, if it is only the fault of these two batsmen? Probably not, because two other batsmen in their top six got out to needless shots. Moeen Ali saw through most of that horrid second hour, and then ten minutes before lunch, gave in to his urge of pulling the short ball. Murali Vijay was present at fine leg – India had planned for it – and much to Shami’s elation, the catch was held.

After lunch, Ben Stokes added 57 runs with Jonny Bairstow. Things were going smoothly when he decided to jump out against Ravindra Jadeja and Parthiv Patel did the needful. Four wickets down on day one, with not even 150 runs on the board yet, what was the need to do this?

“Having won the toss, it was disappointing to lose the wickets that we have as the pitch will be its best today and tomorrow. It could have been a disastrous day if we didn’t knuckle down and work hard. We could have been bowling tonight,” said Bairstow after the day’s play.

The keeper-batsman showed great maturity, and resilience, in defying an Indian attack on the upward curve. The hosts had lifted their game, with the ball and in the field, for they realised the opportunity the English top-order collapse had afforded them. Batting at a new position, in tough conditions against a world-class spin attack, Bairstow played out 177 deliveries across three sessions.

Bairstow’s grit stood out

Those two words “three sessions” press the underlying point herein – responsibility.

With Ali at No. 4, Bairstow at No. 5, Stokes at No. 6 and Jos Buttler at No. 7, this English line-up boasts of a middle order that knows how to pack a punch. They are all batsmen who go for runs at the drop of a hat. The question, though, is about a scenario they faced today.

When their team needed it the most, who would buckle down and resist that urge? That only Bairstow – and Buttler to an extent – did what was demanded should be worrying for the English camp. This reluctance of their middle order to rein themselves in, especially after their top-order had gifted away their wickets, belied the advantage from winning the coin toss.

It also means that England – both the team and their media – cannot complain anymore, regardless of whether Cook wins the toss in Mumbai/Chennai or not, irrespective of the state of pitches there.