England shot out India for a paltry 78 and were 21 for no loss at tea, putting themselves in a commanding position on the opening day of the third Test at Headingley on Wednesday. James Anderson wrecked India’s top order with a three-wicket burst before Craig Overton and Sam Curran mowed down the tail to bundle out the tourists inside two sessions.

Three wickets for James Anderson, same for Craig Overton, a brace each for Ollie Robinson, and Sam Curran saw India being bowled out for 78 runs in their first innings at Headingley with no batsman crossing the 20-run mark. This was after Virat Kohli won his first toss as a Test captain in England and elected to bat first. India decided to play the same eleven as they did at Lord’s. They had dismissed England inside 52 overs on Day 5 at Lord’s, but produced much worse batting performance in Leeds, getting bowled out in 40.4 overs.

Haseeb Hameed was batting on 15 at the break and Rory Burns was on three, denying India an early breakthrough. Earlier, after India captain Virat Kohli had won the toss and elected to bat, Anderson gave England a dream start, dismissing in-form opener KL Rahul in the first over. Rahul fell caught behind for a duck, attempting a drive even before getting his eye in.

The next man in Cheteshwar Pujara scored one before edging Anderson behind, the batsman looking in two minds about which way the ball would swing. Anderson followed with the prize wicket of Kohli, who fell in a similar manner and let out a roar celebrating the dismissal. The 39-year-old seamer produced a swing masterclass in his opening spell which read 8-5-6-3.

James Anderson routed through the top-order – with wickets of KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli – in his opening spell – all three batsmen nicking off through to Jos Buttler. India lost two more wickets – that of Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant – on either side of lunch. both to Robinson and both caught behind by Buttler.

His new-ball colleague Ollie Robinson struck either side of the lunch break, dismissing Ajinkya Rahane for 18 and removing the dangerous Rishabh Pant with Jos Buttler taking his fifth catch of a busy morning. India went on to lose four wickets in a span of six balls without adding a run in a spectacular batting collapse.

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Opener Rohit Sharma survived 105 balls for his 19 but threw away his wicket after all the hard work. India, who lead the five-match series 1-0, fielded an unchanged squad, while England made two changes. Dawid Malan was picked in place of an out-of-form Dom Sibley, while Overton replaced injured seamer Mark Wood. Eight batsmen in the line-up were dismissed for single-digit scores, while Rahane returned as the top scorer with 18.

India’s 3^rd lowest totals against England in Tests

From the highs of the Lord’s, India surrendered to a new low at Headingley. Virat Kohli’s men were bundled out for 78 after opting to bat on Day 1 of the 3rd Test against England in Leeds on Wednesday in an abject batting performance.

James Anderson jolted India early by picking up three wickets, including that of captain Virat Kohli (7), in the first hour as India was never able to recover from that setback. Rohit Sharma top-scored for India with 19 but none of the other batters applied themselves on a decent pitch at Headingley on a bright morning.

India’s 78 was their third-lowest total against England in Test cricket. It was also their 9th lowest total in the history of Test cricket. 42 in the 3rd innings in 1874 at Lord’s 58 in the 2nd innings in 1952 in Manchester 78 in the 1st innings in 2021 in Leeds

This was also India’s third-lowest total in an innings on Day 1 of a Test match. They had registered 75 against West Indies in Delhi in 1987 and 76 vs South Africa in Ahmedabad in 2008 on Day 1 of those Test matches. Notably, under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, India has recorded two totals of less than 100. The first one came in Adelaide last year — 36, their lowest-ever Test total.

Virat Kohli had won the toss for the first time in his captaincy career in a Test match in England but his decision to bat first backfired. India lost the in-form opener, KL Rahul, as early as the first over for 0 after which Anderson struck to remove Cheteshwar Pujara for 4. He got the big wicket of Kohli as the India captain’s struggles continue in international cricket.