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England 84 for 0 (Strauss 52*, Cook 27*) trail India 224 (Dhoni 77, Broad 4-53, Bresnan 4-62) by 140 runs
India arrived in England this summer as the world's top-ranked Test side and with high hope for their much-vaunted batting order but none has clicked so far.
Hampered by injury to Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, although, they have together failed to deliver, failing to even reach 300 or bat out 100 overs in any of their first five innings. Here, Press involvement Sport's Tom White looks at the travails of the frequently stellar line-up.
Team totals
The first two Tests both saw touring captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni win the toss and invite England to bat first, and India were left to respond to a strong England total of 474 for eight declared at Lord's but a mere 221 at Trent Bridge. It made little difference to their approach, though, as they were bowled out for 286 in 95.5 overs in the first Test and 288 in 91.1 at Nottingham. Second-innings totals of 261 and 158 left them 2-0 down and the pattern continued today as they were dismissed for 224 at Edgbaston despite Dhoni's counter-attack.
Averages
The traditional mark of 40 as a target average for a top Test player has long been seen as outdated - yet Rahul Dravid aside, the Indians have failed to even muster that mark. Dravid has made the only two Indian centuries of the series en route to an average of 71 from his five innings, with Yuvraj Singh's 35 the next best.
VVS Laxman has impressed in flashes and averages almost 31 and Gambhir, hampered in the second innings at Lord's by an elbow injury which then ruled him out of the second Test, has three times failed to build on starts and averages 25.
Only Tim Bresnan's drop saved Abhinav Mukund from being dismissed by the first ball of each innings in Nottingham and he averages 16, while Sehwag's return in his place today also brought a golden duck.
Tendulkar (23.80) is still waiting for his landmark innings after scores of 34, 12, 16, 56 and one, while Suresh Raina's 78 in the second innings at Lord's could only lift his average to 19 and Dhoni, similarly, is down at 25.20 even after today's 77.
Innings
Dravid's 117 at Trent Bridge and 103 not out at Lord's stand in isolation among a slew of mediocre scores by India batsmen, with only six other half-centuries.
Mukund made 49 in the first innings at Lord's before Laxman (56) and Raina, with that 78, emerged with some credit from the second.
Dravid could look to Laxman (54) and Yuvraj (62) for much-needed support during his Trent Bridge marathon and Tendulkar battled to 56 in the second innings, which also saw spinner Harbhajan Singh blast a defiant 46 from 44 balls. Dhoni played a lone hand today.
England can boast Kevin Pietersen's 202 at Lord's, further hundreds for Ian Bell (159) and Matt Prior (103no) and eight half-centuries shared among six players, including bowlers Bresnan and Stuart Broad.
Partnerships
Six times in two Tests England's batsmen have produced century partnerships. India's only such effort was Dravid and Yuvraj's 128 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, which came on the back of 93 between Dravid and Laxman. Their highest partnership outside of that series-high innings of 288 is today's 84 between Dhoni and tail-ender Praveen Kumar.
Lower-order runs
England's last four batsmen were rarely needed at Lord's, seeing the hosts from 390 for six to 474 for eight declared in their only outing, but added 133 of a first-innings total of 221 at Trent Bridge and another 205 in a huge second innings.
That gives England 422 runs for 10 "lower-order" wickets, or an average of 42.20. India's equivalent is 324 runs for 20 wickets - 46 and 36 at Lord's, a paltry 15 and a Harbhajan-boosted 103 at Trent Bridge and 124 around Dhoni today - giving an average of 16.20.
India arrived in England this summer as the world's top-ranked Test side and with high hope for their much-vaunted batting order but none has clicked so far.
Hampered by injury to Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, although, they have together failed to deliver, failing to even reach 300 or bat out 100 overs in any of their first five innings. Here, Press involvement Sport's Tom White looks at the travails of the frequently stellar line-up.
Team totals
The first two Tests both saw touring captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni win the toss and invite England to bat first, and India were left to respond to a strong England total of 474 for eight declared at Lord's but a mere 221 at Trent Bridge. It made little difference to their approach, though, as they were bowled out for 286 in 95.5 overs in the first Test and 288 in 91.1 at Nottingham. Second-innings totals of 261 and 158 left them 2-0 down and the pattern continued today as they were dismissed for 224 at Edgbaston despite Dhoni's counter-attack.
Averages
The traditional mark of 40 as a target average for a top Test player has long been seen as outdated - yet Rahul Dravid aside, the Indians have failed to even muster that mark. Dravid has made the only two Indian centuries of the series en route to an average of 71 from his five innings, with Yuvraj Singh's 35 the next best.
VVS Laxman has impressed in flashes and averages almost 31 and Gambhir, hampered in the second innings at Lord's by an elbow injury which then ruled him out of the second Test, has three times failed to build on starts and averages 25.
Only Tim Bresnan's drop saved Abhinav Mukund from being dismissed by the first ball of each innings in Nottingham and he averages 16, while Sehwag's return in his place today also brought a golden duck.
Tendulkar (23.80) is still waiting for his landmark innings after scores of 34, 12, 16, 56 and one, while Suresh Raina's 78 in the second innings at Lord's could only lift his average to 19 and Dhoni, similarly, is down at 25.20 even after today's 77.
Innings
Dravid's 117 at Trent Bridge and 103 not out at Lord's stand in isolation among a slew of mediocre scores by India batsmen, with only six other half-centuries.
Mukund made 49 in the first innings at Lord's before Laxman (56) and Raina, with that 78, emerged with some credit from the second.
Dravid could look to Laxman (54) and Yuvraj (62) for much-needed support during his Trent Bridge marathon and Tendulkar battled to 56 in the second innings, which also saw spinner Harbhajan Singh blast a defiant 46 from 44 balls. Dhoni played a lone hand today.
England can boast Kevin Pietersen's 202 at Lord's, further hundreds for Ian Bell (159) and Matt Prior (103no) and eight half-centuries shared among six players, including bowlers Bresnan and Stuart Broad.
Partnerships
Six times in two Tests England's batsmen have produced century partnerships. India's only such effort was Dravid and Yuvraj's 128 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, which came on the back of 93 between Dravid and Laxman. Their highest partnership outside of that series-high innings of 288 is today's 84 between Dhoni and tail-ender Praveen Kumar.
Lower-order runs
England's last four batsmen were rarely needed at Lord's, seeing the hosts from 390 for six to 474 for eight declared in their only outing, but added 133 of a first-innings total of 221 at Trent Bridge and another 205 in a huge second innings.
That gives England 422 runs for 10 "lower-order" wickets, or an average of 42.20. India's equivalent is 324 runs for 20 wickets - 46 and 36 at Lord's, a paltry 15 and a Harbhajan-boosted 103 at Trent Bridge and 124 around Dhoni today - giving an average of 16.20.
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