The fun has gone for frazzled India as Shubman Gill’s passivity leaves teammates drifting | Simon Burnton

India’s thinking has felt scrambled and confused at Old Trafford and their captain’s leadership absentFor 22 overs on the third morning India toiled in the field, rotating through their bowling options, none of them working. Well, all but one of their bowling options: Washington Sundar remained unused, occasionally performing solo warm‑up exercises in the outfield only to be left there to cool down again. But then the right‑armer is primarily known for his ability to generate drift, and drifting was the one thing India were doing pretty effectively already.Finally, he got his chance. By then England’s innings was 68 overs old and India’s advantage had been whittled from 358 to only 53. In his three overs before lunch, with a tired ball, Washington brought some energy and some hope. Not with immediate reward, but enough to bring the slightest hint of a skip to his teammates’ trudge from the field. He returned after lunch to dismiss Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, but in doing so it was hard to know if he was helping India solve their problems, or simply highlighting them. Continue reading...

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