Hello and welcome to Sportstar's Highlights of Day Three of the first Test between India and England as action unfolds at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
India perches itself on top despite losing out on two complete sessions to rain over the last two days. KL Rahul's profound solidity in defense outside the off-stump denied England the luxury of quick wickets and his partnership with Jadeja turned out to be a real game-changer for India. And in a rare sight for Indian cricket, the tail did spring up for a fight with the emergence of a new Hitman in town, Jasprit Bumrah! The slingman strode to his best Test score with a particular affinity towards Sam Curran who was smoked left, right and centre, steering India towards a near-hundred lead on a challenging surface. The England openers had their look in albeit at a very slow pace before a heavy downpour dampened our hopes of a thrilling third session once again. There's a lot left in the tank and join us tomorrow in what could be the moving day in the Test.
10:42PM IST: Time to hit the sack, folks. Play has been called off for the day. Another damp squib and it's the Englishmen who have been favoured slightly with this break in play.
10:17PM IST: If the rain remains to die down, the third session will resume at
10:40pm IST (6:10pm local time). Not shooting my hopes high any further. That's how it rolls at the moment in Nottingham,
it's pelting down and we are set for a longer delay.
10:13PM IST: Thick blanket of clouds huddle over the field as the covers remain sprayed around the circle.
10:06PM IST: Hold on, folks. The weather continues to meddle in our little happiness as rain returns to the field.
9:57PM IST: Update: Play to begin at 10:15pm (5 :45pm local ) IST.
9:55PM IST: The rains have died down but the covers continue to remain on the center.
9:48PM IST: The Indians were adamant to stay on as Siraj and Shami were slowly raising the heat on Burns and Sibley. Burns, in particular, played himself into a rut as Shami and Siraj attacked the stumps and checked his wavy stance. Seems like we'll resume shortly with India head and shoulders above the home side at the moment.
A slight drizzle takes over and the umpires are moving off. Kohli is flummoxed and continues to wait on the field as it seems to be a faint drizzle for him. The hover cover is back on though.
ENG 25/0 in 11 overs: Burns on the edge! Shami gets Burns to nudge at one and the soft outside-edge trickles through the slip cordon to the boundary. He's on thin ice and Shami brings the nip-backer into him, whiffing past the off-stump.
ENG 21/0 in 10 overs: Siraj continues to build pressure on Burns. Apart from the gentle flick off Shami, Burns has failed to move his innings further and the constant push from either end continues to make life difficult out in the middle for him.
ENG 20/0 in 9 overs: Shami strays onto the pads with a fuller delivery and Burns swiftly shuffles onto the offside and flicks it through midwicket for a boundary. The openers are slowly building on the momentum and patiently wait for the odd loosener to cash in.
ENG 15/0 in 8 overs: Siraj hits the length and the ball seams away from Sibley towards off. The ball takes a thin edge and trickles to the boundary. A couple of words exchanged between the duo and Siraj keeps it fairly tight for the remaining deliveries.
Siraj up from the other end
ENG 11/0 in 7 overs: Shami gets a fine tickly of Burns' outside-edge instantly but the ball lands short of third slip. Shami attempts to move the ball into Burns but the southpaw presents a neat push to see them off.
Mohammed Shami to open the attack
Back for the third session. Burns and Sibley walk back to the middle.
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And that's tea . It was an action-packed session, with wickets taken frequently and runs scored quickly. India's lower order had come a cropper in 2018; this year, the signs are good as the tail seems keen to wag.
India leads by 84 runs. Join us for the post-tea session in about 20 minutes.
ENG 11/0 in 6 overs: Sibley follows it up with a flick to long leg for four. It was a ball waiting to be put away: a leg-stump half-volley. Sibley gets hit on his elbow by a sharp delivery.
Two no-balls in the over from Siraj.
ENG 6/0 in 5 overs: A no-ball again from Bumrah; he's bowled a few, in this Test. And he bowls a wide as well, it's the first of the match. It's dug in too short and the ball flies way over the batsman's head to the keeper, who had to leap to collect it.
Sibley is off the mark as he tucks one to fine leg to pick up a single. It was a short-of-a-length delivery on his legs.
ENG 3/0 in 4 overs: Siraj bowls back-of-a-length on middle stump to Rory Burns for much of the over. No run.
ENG 3/0 in 3 overs: Another maiden over, rather, nearly a maiden over, as there's a no-ball. The last ball was a no-ball. Bumrah bowls a consistent line and length to Dom Sibley in that over; carefully dealt with by the batsman.
ENG 2/0 in 2 overs: Siraj bowls fast and accurately to Rory Burns, who negotiates the deliveries well, leaving them alone or defending solidly. A maiden over.
ENG 2/0 in 1 over: Some excitement from India's close-in fielders as the ball narrowly evades Rory Burns' edge as it flies through to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps. Perfect line and length: just back of a length, angling across the left-hander.
Another similar delivery and Burns survives. Then he gets one on his thighs and puts it away to pick up a single, his first run in this Test.
Two runs from the over, as there's a no-ball as well.
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England's openers come out to bat. They will try and safely negotiate 20 minutes or so of this session.
Fresh from his batting exploits, Bumrah gets ready to bowl the first over of England's second innings.
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IND 278 in 84.5 overs: And England gets the 10th wicket, finally! Bumrah gets a short one and tries to pull it. He gets an edge, and the ball flies to the fine leg boundary where Stuart Broad takes an excellent, tumbling catch.
Robinson has five wickets. India has a handy lead of 95 runs in the first innings.
The wicket fell after Bumrah had added four more (two twos) to his tally with his agricultural heaves.
Jasprit Bumrah c Broad b Robinson 28 (34b, 4x3, 6x1)
IND 274/9 in 84 overs: England brings on James Anderson to try and end this partnership. The batsmen heave and scramble for a total of three runs in the over.
Anderson is not amused when the ball travels to third man after Siraj tries to play the pull and gets a top edge. The ball travels on the bounce to the fielder, and Anderson perhaps thought the fielder should have made a better effort to try to convert it into a catch.
And there's some reason for the frustration too. India's lead has ballooned in the last few minutes.
IND 270/9 in 83 overs: Bumrah once again shows he's good at driving the ball as he gets a full delivery to drive down the ground. Two runs.
Bumrah fails in his efforts to gather runs in the next four deliveries, and then, on the final ball, gets a short one and pulls it. The ball loops up, lands behind the wicketkeeper and runs away for another four.
IND 264/9 in 82 overs: Runs galore in this over from Curran as Bumrah decides to throw caution to the wind and heave on every ball. First, he gets one on his pads and he plays a sweet flick to pick up a boundary through deep midwicket. Then, he gets a short one and he pulls it crisply to pick up six runs through square leg; the ball evaded the leaping fielder at the boundary.
Then another four. It's an excellent delivery; the ball hits the edge of the bat and flies past the slips to the boundary.
A leg-bye on the final delivery after Bumrah tries to heave for a fourth time (he didn't get bat to ball on the third one). He would have been run out; he had to dive and a direct hit would have ended India's innings.
IND 249/9 in 81 overs: Robinson gets a delivery to breach Shami's defences and Shami is bowled! It's a good length delivery angling into the batsman; Shami just hung his bat to that and stood rooted in his crease. The ball brushes his pads and touches the stumps.
Mohammed Shami b Robinson 13 (20b)
Mohammad Siraj gets a full length delivery and plays a nice drive through mid-off off Robinson!
IND 245/8 in 80 overs: Bumrah up to the challenge again as he defends the deliveries from Sam Curran well. He gets an edge off the first delivery of the over and promptly picks up a couple of runs.
It's drinks.
IND 244/8 in 79 overs: A short-of-a-length delivery from Robinson is defended to the leg side by Shami and a single is picked up. The ball touches the inside edge of the bat and deflects to the leg side.
The fifth delivery of the over is full, outside the off-stump. Bumrah presses forward to defend it, and again, it touches the edge of the bat to travel through the gully/third man region. Bumrah has a couple of runs.
IND 241/8 in 78 overs: A maiden over from Curran as Bumrah either leaves the deliveries alone or defends them carefully.
IND 241/8 in 79 overs: Another near run-out! Jasprit Bumrah would have been run out at the non-strikers' end if the fielder's throw had hit the stumps. Shami played a delivery awkwardly to mid-off, Bumrah took off for a run and the throw had already passed the stumps when he got back.
Robinson bowls short deliveries to Shami; Shami tries to pull them but the ball goes through to the keeper both times.
Shami gets a couple of runs through backward point.
IND 238/8 in 76 overs: Shami is having some fun. He's just trying to smash every ball to long-on for a six. Fortunately for him, all three times he gets bat on ball, the ball either evades the fielders or is dropped.
Anderson was the one who dropped the chance in the deep after Shami teed off. It wasn't a very hard chance; Anderson runs in from midwicket to position himself for the catch, the ball lands in his palms, but he spills it.
IND 232/8 in 75 overs: Ollie Robinson into the attack. Short and wide, outside off-stump, going away with the angle from over the wicket. Jadeja cuts the ball hard and it beats the fielder at deep point to the boundary. Four runs, and Jadeja moves to his half-century.
Jadeja gets a length ball; he clears his front leg and heaves hard to get another four! This time through mid on.
And gone! Jadeja slices the ball high. It's not got the distance, only the height; Stuart Broad, at mid-off, back-pedals to take this catch. It was a good length delivery around off-stump and Jadeja heaved hard to try and send the ball into space. The ball hits the bottom of the bat.
He goes for 56.
Ravindra Jadeja 56 (86b, 4x8, 6x1)
IND 222/7 in 74 overs: Jadeja is turning down opportunities to run singles as he doesn't want to expose the No. 9 batsman, Mohammed Shami. On the fifth delivery, though, he taps the ball to the off-side and scampers for a single. And Shami is nearly run out!
A direct hit would have got him.
Shami survives the final ball. Leaves a wide delivery outside off-stump alone.
IND 218/7 in 73 overs: And nearly wicket No. 5 for Anderson! It is a back-of-a-length delivery outside off-stump, angling across the left handed Jadeja. It lifts off a length, touches the shoulder of the bat and the ball narrowly evades the leaping fielder at point. Goes to the boundary.
The penultimate delivery of the over is bowled on his pads, and Jadeja helps it along to fine leg with a flick to pick up six runs! It's the third six of the match.
And he attempts a mighty heave off the final delivery, misses it. It was full, outside off, and Jadeja tries to launch it out of the ground. Gets no bat on it.
IND 208/7 in 72 overs: Jadeja gets a short delivery and he pulls it fiercely to collect two runs. It wasn't off the middle of the bat. Then he ducks under a couple of short ones and negotiates a couple of back-of-a-length deliveries carefully.
The last ball of the over from Broad is also a short one. This time, Jadeja plays it well; he was ready for it, rolling his wrists on that so the ball travels along the ground to fine leg. A single taken to keep strike.
IND 205/7 in 71 overs: A short ball from Anderson to Shardul Thakur, the new batsman. Thakur tries play the pull shot, the ball flies through to the keeper without touching his bat.
And Shardul joins the queue, falls to Anderson like the others! He gets a good length delivery outside the off-stump, doesn't move his feet much and tries to play the drive, nicks it to Joe Root at first slip.
Root would have been relieved to have pouched this one. He goes low to his left and takes it well.
Shardul Thakur c Root b Anderson 0 (6)
IND 205/6 in 70 overs: A maiden from over Broad. He bowls short for the most part. Jadeja upto the task, negotiates the deliveries well.
IND 205/6 in 69 overs: Anderson bowls a half-volley on the leg-stump and Rahul tucks it to midwicket for two. Anderson follows it up with a half-volley outside the off-stump; Rahul plays a clinical square drive to collect a boundary.
A short ball hits Rahul on the shoulder after he ducks. A full delivery outside the off-stump, defended well. And OUT!
It's big wicket of Rahul! It's a dismissal similar to Cheteshwar Pujara's on Day Two. Full, outside off, Rahul plays the drive, nicks it behind. With this wicket, Anderson leapfrogs Anil Kumble to become the third highest wicket taker in Test cricket . His tally right now: 620.
Rahul c Buttler b Anderson 84 (214b, 4x12, 6x0)
IND 199/5 in 68 overs: Stuart Broad into the attack. Jadeja gets one on his legs, and promptly dispatches it to the square leg boundary. He punches one off the back foot pick up a single through mid-on and move to 32. Two short balls to Rahul to finish the over.
IND 193/5 in 67 overs: DROPPED! It's Joe Root again! A short, wide delivery from Anderson and Rahul slashes at it, it takes the edge and flies to Root at first slip. Root has to reverse-cup his hands to pouch it above his head; the ball spills out.
K. L. Rahul survives. Rahul is dropped for the second time in this innings; Anderson was the bowler who created the chance the first time, too.
As we get ready for Day Three to resume at Trent Bridge, a reminder of the session timings: the second session will go on until 8.55pm IST, and the final session can last until midnight.
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Rahul's supreme fortitude continues to shield India from a complete collapse as he has taken a large share of the early barrage from England's seamers. Rahul's assured mindset has well been the turning point for him in this innings as the certainty is surely at the fore as he leaves the nagging deliveries outside the off-stump with ease. While Pant's early fall would have put the side on the backfoot, Jadeja has come in and doused the early flares. Jadeja survived through an iffy start and shouldered the weight of pushing India into the lead along with Rahul in quick time.
READ:
IND 191/5 in 66 overs: And India head into Lunch with an eight-run lead at the loss of just one wicket in the session. The runs have come at a decent rate as well, as Rahul and Jadeja's quick partnership ensured 66 runs in 19.2 overs. India's firm start means that it has snatched another session from England.
IND 188/5 in 65 overs: And fittingly Rahul takes India into the lead with a gentle drive through the covers. Nearly beats the fielder but stops at the brim of the fence as the batters run in three. Anderson continues to put pressure as a sharp delivery beats Jadeja's outside edge as it angles in and away off the seam from the length.
Anderson returns
IND 183/5 in 64 overs: Curran's control is a bit awry at the moment. Rahul gets off strike with a nonchalant flick as Curran strays loosely onto the pads. Jadeja gets a couple of sighters as well but he leaves it out for the moment. SCORES LEVEL.
IND 182/5 in 63 overs: Jadeja piles on the misery for Broad as he whips the ball moving in past mid-on for a classical boundary. The pair have put on a good show here and it has come in double-quick time.
IND 178/5 in 62 overs: Curran's wobbly seam takes him all over the surface before he gets it right off the last ball. Curran tails the ball into Rahul and clips the outside-edge. Rahul's wafting blade ensures that the ball skims low and does not reach the slip fielder on the full.
IND 177/5 in 61 overs: Broad continues to push the ball into Jadeja and slash room for the southpaw. He tries to surprise Jadeja with an outswinger but he stays well clear from it. India inching towards taking a crucial lead here. Six runs away from England's first innings total.
IND 175/5 in 60 overs: Jadeja welcomes Curan with a classical straight drive for four. Full face on the front and he holds his shape as Curran draws one straight and full aiming at Jadeja's pads.
Curran replaces Robinson
IND 169/5 in 59 overs: England loses all of its reviews. A loud shout from Broad as the ball moves close to Rahul's bat as he leaves a ball outside the off-stump in the last second. There seems to be a small click and Root goes up for the review. The replays suggest that the ball is well away from Rahul's blade.
IND 165/5 in 58 overs: Robinson senses he has a real good chance against an iffy Jadeja and shuffles between either side of the wicket in the over. He bumps one to Jadeja's hips and ends up conceding a boundary as the batsman nudges just about fine past a diving Buttler behind the stumps.
IND 161/5 in 57 overs: Rahul's assured movement has tied up one end for India. Broad tries his best to have a shy at the off-stump but Rahul does well to deny him an easy nugget.
IND 158/5 in 56 overs: Squares him up with a beauty! Robinson is in fine touch and he whips one past Jadeja's forward press. Cracking delivery from the big man as Jadeja is left hanging for that one.
IND 157/5 in 55 overs: Fine start for Broad as he hits the spot rightaway. He test Rahul in the corridor and the opener continues to leave the nagging deliveries with good awareness.
Broad replaces Anderson
IND 157/5 in 54 overs: Jadeja survives! Rahul nudges Robinson to the off-side and instantly pushes on a quick single. Jadeja does not anticipate that and sets out on it anyway and he's miles short of the crease as the ball scurries past the stumps as Buttler fails to make ground in time to collect it. Huge reprieve for the visitor.
IND 154/5 in 53 overs: Anderson continues to give it his all and push the ball in and away from Rahul. Rahul leans back and forth and evades well with a couple of good leaves to see him through.
IND 153/5 in 52 overs: Testing over from Robinson to Jadeja first-up. He continues from over the wicket and beats the bat convincingly and puts Jadeja in a tough spot early on.
IND 149/5 in 51 overs: The game picks up instantly after the break as 'things' begin to happen at the middle. Anderson drifts one in quickly and hits Rahul's pads marginally outside the off-stump. He survives and lands a hefty cover drive to make up for the shift in confidence. Good battle ensuing between Jimmy and KL here.
IND 145/5 in 50 overs: Robinson to Pant. OUT! Straight to short cover! High drama at the middle in the over! The drizzle prompts Rahul to wait for the umpires to call off play but they stay back on. Anderson gets involved with a fiery exchange before Robinson indulges with a deft shoulder-barge on Rahul. Pant gets back on strike and gets a streaky top-edge for six. Robinson then brings in a slower delivery that hits the length and stops a bit as Pant prods forward. He checks the shot in the last minute and the ball lobs straight to the fielder. Big break for the Englishmen. Rishabh Pant c Bairstow b Robinson 25 (20b 3x4 1x6)
A drizzle is on again....
IND 133/4 in 49 overs: Anderson starts off with a bouncer outside the off-stump that makes Pant spring up. The ball whiffs past the outside-edge and Anderson is excited and goes up in a loud shout. His skipper is not very keen to tread on it and rightfully objects a review.
Anderson returns with Pant on strike.
Happy sights! The players return to the middle.
4:24PM IST: Who's got the switch to this thing?? Rain returns to play it's own game with everyone. Hopes in a puddle once again. Well, it seems like it's a passing shower and the game is pinned to return in10 minutes at the moment .
4:20PM IST: UPDATE:
Rain relents and the umpires have cleared play to resume
4:35 IST (
12:05 pm local time). Lunch to be taken at 6pm IST.
4:01PM IST: A minute's enough for everything to go downhill in the UK! It's raining again and the re-start is delayed!
4:00PM IST: Covers are being taken off and we could have a start in 10 minutes.
3:54PM IST: UPDATE FROM BCCI: Play on Day 3 was halted due to rain after 11 balls. It has stopped raining currently, but is quite windy. Restart at 11:40 local time (4:10PM IST).
3:47PM IST: It has stopped raining but the covers remain on at the centre. The umpires are having a chat with the groundsmen and we would presumably have a quick start.
IND 132/4 in 48.3 overs: Oh no! The players go off right after Pant smashes Anderson with a thumping advancing cover drive for four. Rain picks up in Nottingham and we are in for a early halt.
IND 128/4 in 48 overs: Good start by Robinson. He hits the length and continues to drill the ball in and Rahul stands firm in the crease.
Robinson from the opposite end
IND 126/4 in 47 overs: Anderson attacks the stumps straightaway but Rahul nudges it to his right and sets off on a quick single.
Anderson returns to complete his over from the second session yesterday!
Game on, folks! KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant walk to the middle as Root's men take their positions.
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3:20 IST: Ten minutes to start and the good news is that we have the sun beating down on the field!
3:03 IST: Rahul and Pant have a daunting task in the first hour with Anderson and England making a superb comeback. Can the pair play their natural game to bail India out of trouble?
2:38PM IST: For a dim morning, it continues to remain dry in Nottingham. Fingers crossed for a clean day's play.
2:27PM IST: UPDATE from BCCI: 98 overs to be bowled on day three.
2:20PM IST: Ahead of day three's play, here's a look at some key numbers:
2:05PM IST:
Fine day to find some form again!
1:50PM IST: Under two hours to the start. As per latest reports, it's been a cloudy morning in Nottingham but thankfully the rains have stayed away. Here's what the forecast for the day looks like:
Day 2 Review
What a riveting day of Test match cricket! After jolting the home side to a paltry 183, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul embarked on a gruelling mission as play resumed on day two. England's bowlers were stingy and relentless in the first hour and the Indian openers were up for a stern reply as well. Rohit and Rahul - both with a point to prove in whites - saw off the nagging line of Anderson while dealing with Robinson's nip-backers with a watchful eye. As England's resolve tapered off a bit, Rahul upped the ante while Rohit continued to fortify one end until that freak moment arrived.
Minutes before Lunch, Robinson offered a perfect bouncer, perhaps the first of its kind in the Indian innings to Rohit. The impulsive front-foot puller couldn't resist the bait and holed out to Curran with a shot that undid all of the dogged work through the session.
Rohit would have rued on what ensued in the second session. Jimmy Anderson rose to the occasion as he rolled up two corkers to crack India's pillars Pujara and skipper Kohli off successive deliveries. With Kohli falling for the tempter outside off-stump first ball, the warning balls hit sharply in the dressing room as the horrors of the WTC final returned in streaks and flashes. His deputy Rahane was the next to follow - falling for a bizarre run out.
Jimmy equals Kumble's 619 with a biggie!
If not for the rain gods that interrupted play before eventually abandoning the second and third sessions on Thursday, Kohli and Co. were definitely in a precarious position and would most certainly know now that there's no room for a complacency by even the smallest fraction in these conditions. Root and his men will come all guns blazing today and we'll anticipate another thriller with the forecast predicting a bright and beaming day at Trent Bridge.
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