India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a gladiatorial century to inspire India to a dominant 322-run lead over England after the tourists were bowled out for 319 on day three of the third Test in Rajkot.
Ben Stokes’ side suffered a batting collapse as they lost their final five wickets for only 20 runs with India’s seam bowler Mohammed Siraj (4-84) picking up a four-wicket haul.
Jaiswal (104) and Shubman Gill (65no) then led India’s attack motoring to a 155-run partnership as the hosts posted 196-2 at stumps after the centurion had been forced to retire hurt.
Ben Duckett (153) added 20 runs to his overnight score of 133 but much of England’s lower order fell cheaply with Rehan Ahmed (6), Tom Hartley (9) and James Anderson (1) all dismissed in single figures.
Joe Root’s (18) dismissal drew criticism after he reverse scooped Jasprit Bumrah and was caught at second slip by Jaiswal triggering a collapse.
England on the precipice of reckless
England had resumed day three in a strong position on 207-2 with Duckett reverse sweeping to his 150, but was tamely dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav (2-77).
Duckett, who was dropped by Rohit on 149, top-edged a short and wide ball from India’s left-arm wrist spinner Yadav to cover, bringing an untimely end to his masterful innings.
Root attempted his trademark reverse scoop off Bumrah, one of India’s best bowlers, but it proved to be the cause of his downfall.
The Yorkshireman drew criticism for not batting with more caution and riding out Bumrah’s spell before adopting a more Bazball-esque approach. With India’s senior leg-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin missing the remainder of the third Test due to personal reasons, England had an advantage but failed to capitalise on it with reckless batting.
Root’s dismissal injected life into India’s bowlers as Bairstow (0) was trapped lbw by Yadav for a duck in the following over. He reviewed the decision but walked off before the replay confirmed the ball was crashing into middle stump.
Ben Stokes (41) and Ben Foakes (13) shared a 39-run stand to pull England to 299-5 but were both dismissed in consecutive deliveries by Ravindra Jadeja (2-51) and Siraj respectively.
England’s skipper Stokes swept hometown hero Jadeja to long-on where he was caught by Bumrah whilst Foakes was removed by a diving Rohit at mid-on to leave the visitors faltering on 299-7.
Rehan was outdone by a searing yorker from Bumrah that clipped the outside of off-stump only removing one bail.
In a bid to be positive, Hartley came down the pitch to take on Jadeja but missed the ball and debutant wicketkeeper Dhurv Jurel whipped off the bails.
Siraj claimed his fourth wicket with a yorker that knocked Anderson’s off stump and in a flash, England were all out and found themselves 126 runs behind.
Jaiswal’s ton helps India build big lead
Jaiswal’s impressive form continued as he notched his third Test hundred, and the second of the series, to help India build a dominant lead over England.
He whipped away Mark Wood (0-38) through the covers for four to bring up his 122-ball ton, with his second fifty coming in just 42 balls.
The 22-year-old began to cramp up in the 42nd over of India’s second innings but powered through after receiving treatment from the team’s physio. However, he was forced to retire hurt two overs later after smashing nine fours and five sixes during his outing.
England’s leg-spinner Joe Root was rewarded for toiling hard against India’s openers when he trapped Rohit (19) lbw after the skipper missed an attempted sweep.
Gill, who scored a century in the second Test, brought up his fifty in fine style after he launched Wood’s short ball over deep square leg for six.
Perhaps the only reprieve for England was when Patidar spooned a half-tracker from Hartley (1-42) to Rehan at midwicket leaving India 191-2.
Nighthawk Kuldeep (3), who also gifted his wicket away in the first innings falling for just five, ensured cautious batting would get him to stumps as India look to continue their dominant performance on day four.
Duckett defends Root dismissal
Ben Duckett on Joe Root’s dismissal on the reverse scoop:
“Rooty is a freak and does things a lot of us can’t do. In my eyes, that dismissal is the same as playing a drive and nicking off.
“He plays the reverse scoop so well and I’m sure a lot of people weren’t [criticising it] when it worked in the summer.
“India sending in a nightwatchman when they are over 300 ahead shows they are slightly wary of us.
“We are going to continue the way that we play and if we get two or three blokes in on that pitch scoring quickly, you never know what can happen.”
Hussain: ‘Root dismissal sums up state of Bazball’
Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain on Joe Root’s dismissal:
“His dismissal sort of sums up where we are with Bazball. It will thrill and frustrate in equal measure.
“When he is playing those reverse-scoops to the first ball of the day of an Ashes Test, we all jump up and applaud. When he does it to Bumrah here and gets out, we all say ‘what a disgrace’.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
“One thing Joe will look at is the timing of that shot. Ashwin wasn’t there, India are down a bowler; Jadeja is playing off the back of an injury; Bumrah is playing three Tests in a row and there is talk of him needing a rest.
“Bazball is about being attacking but it is also about soaking up pressure. Get Bumrah into his second or third spell, take it deep and then play the shot later in the day.
“Joe will assess his dismissal himself. That’s what makes him a great player. He’ll come back. He’ll be absolutely fine.”
Follow over-by-over text commentary from the third Test between India and England, live on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App from 3.45am on Sunday (first ball at 4am).
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
Find out more here…
Source : Sky Sports
