Pujara's footwork, Vijay's balance

Gautam Gambhir has changed his stance to avoid falling over and, while he has been getting runs, he has also been dismissed leg before twice in three Test innings since his return. The way he got out today was slightly strange because his new stance does not allow his front foot to fall across much. Strange things happen at the start of a new day and this was one of those things. But was it also a case of trusting the shine? The ball had started reversing in the 11th over and Gambhir had seen it from close quarters the previous evening. Perhaps that led him to assume that the ball would go away in the air, because the shiny side of the ball was towards the left-hander's off side.

Mooen Ali has bowled about 5 kph quicker than R Ashwin in this Test. In addition to the pace, he bowls a lot flatter. It is difficult to use your feet against him but Cheteshwar Pujara did so exceptionally well right from the beginning. He went down the pitch off the last ball of the 28th over and hit a boundary through midwicket. That caused Moeen to drop short in the first ball of his next over and Pujara helped himself to a boundary off the back foot.

Despite his tight defensive technique, Pujara was troubled by the bouncer on a number of occasions. While it is indeed tough to play bouncers on slow, low Indian pitches, Pujara's problems against Chris Woakes had little to do with that. He has a slightly wide stance, which is followed by a forward stride in his trigger movement. His front foot points down the ground, but his leg still falls across slightly. The length of Pujara's front-foot stride makes it difficult for him to rock back, and the across-movement leads to his upper body closing, leaving him with no option but to take the body blow if the ball tails back in.

If the pitch is not offering much to fast bowlers, they have to do more in the air, and that is where using the crease to create angles comes in handy. Woakes was the pick of England's bowlers and used the crease optimally. He went wide of the crease, both to bowl bouncers tailing back into the right-handed batsmen and to bowl full balls outside off that went away. To vary it up, he went close to the stumps and tried the same things, minus the bouncers. Vijay played him extremely well.

Balance is Vijay's biggest strength, because he does not have exaggerated foot movement, thereby keeping his limbs compact. Usually, players who do not move much tend to reach out with their hands, and that gets them in trouble. But Vijay know exactly where his off stump is and also has the patience to allow the ball to come to him. Once he leaves a lot of balls alone, bowlers are forced to bowl closer to him and that is how he thrives. But, for someone who can clear the ropes at will, Vijay displayed extraordinary patience to defend a lot of balls.