New Delhi: Mohammad Siraj claimed six wickets while Akash Deep picked four wickets as India made a strong comeback in the third session of the third day of Edgbaston Test against England. After bowling out the hosts for 407 runs and with a first innings lead of 180 in their pocket, India ended Day 3 on 64/1 with an overall lead of 244 runs with KL Rahul holding the fort.
Rahul (28 off 38 balls) and Karun Nair (7 off 18 balls) were on the crease for the visitors when stumps were called by the umpires. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who started off well in the second innings, fell victim to Josh Tongue after scoring quick 28 runs in just 22 balls. Though England wished for more wickets before the day end but the Indian batters, especially seasoned Rahul, stood tall to see through the overs.
This came after English batters Jamie Smith and Harry Brook wrecked havoc on India with a record 303-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which was ultimately broken by Akash Deep, who ended up taking four wickets. Siraj (6/70) took crucial blows in the morning session, dismissing Joe Root (22) and Ben Stokes (0) and then returned again claiming 4 more wickets to script a remarkable turnaround.
Earlier, Brook (158) and Smith (184 not out) were instrumental in England innings as they took the score from 84/5 to 387 to bail out their team from a precarious position and put them in command before India staged a comeback. India were well in position to inflict a follow-on on England after their mammoth first innings score of 587 but the record partnership tuned the game in England’s favour.
However, Akash broke the deadlock with Brook’s wicket and then sent back Chris Woakes for 5 runs to reduce England to 395/7, before Siraj wiped out the tail, dismissing Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir for ducks. India would like to capitalise on their current position on the fourth day of the match.
