Mohammed Siraj grabbed six wickets as India bowled out England for 407 runs, taking a first-innings lead of 180 runs in the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Akash Deep also contributed with four wickets.
Before stumps, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 28. KL Rahul (28*) and Karun Nair (7*) stood tall at the crease as India finished Day 3 on 64/1, leading by 244 runs.
England began the third session at 355/5, trailing by 232 runs, with Harry Brook and Jamie Smith unbeaten on 140 (209) and 157 (169), respectively. Brook reached his 150 in the 79th over, pushing the ball towards point for a single.
In the 82nd over, the duo brought up a 300-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Akash Deep finally broke the stand, cleaning up Brook for a brilliant 158, which included 17 fours and a six.
Chris Woakes joined Smith at the crease but fell to Deep in the 87th over for just five. After Woakes’ dismissal, Siraj ran through the lower order, claiming three wickets in two overs to bowl out England for 407.
Jamie Smith remained unbeaten on 184, while Brook scored 158. Smith made history by registering the highest score by a wicketkeeper for England in a Test match.
Smith now also holds the record for the highest Test score by an England batter at No. 7 or lower, surpassing KS Ranjitsinhji’s 175 against Australia at the SCG in 1897.
In India’s second innings, Jaiswal and Rahul opened aggressively, reaching 50 runs in just the eighth over. In the same over, Jaiswal was dismissed by Josh Tongue for 28 off 22 balls, which included six fours.
Karun Nair then joined Rahul at the crease.
Earlier in the day, Smith and Brook tormented the Indian bowlers in the second session, thriving under the aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach and keeping England in the contest on Day 3 of the Test.
At Tea, England had reached 355/5, still trailing by 232 runs, with Brook and Smith unbeaten.
Brook brought up his ninth Test century early in the session, guiding the ball past a diving Nitish Kumar Reddy at gully. Indian spinners Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja were ineffective against the attacking English duo.
Smith continued with aggressive intent, while Brook showcased a mix of aggression and solid defence. Luck favoured England, as Brook survived a couple of close calls and Smith was dropped by Pant off a tough chance.
Smith hit back-to-back boundaries off Nitish in the 62nd over and followed it with a pull shot for four off Deep in the next. He brought up his 150 in the 64th over, steering the ball to deep backward point for a single.
With reverse swing and spin missing, Jadeja bowled a rare maiden over but couldn’t break through. Brook used reverse sweeps effectively, helping England reach 350 in the 74th over.
England had started Day 3 at 77/3 with Joe Root (18*) and Brook (30*) at the crease. Siraj struck early, removing Root for 22 and captain Ben Stokes for a golden duck in the 22nd over.
Smith then joined Brook, and the duo counter-attacked. England crossed 100 in the 25th over. Brook reached his fifty in 73 balls, and Smith smashed 23 runs in a single over from Prasidh Krishna — equalling the most runs conceded by an Indian bowler in an over against England.
Smith reached his fifty soon after and brought up his century before Lunch with back-to-back boundaries off Jadeja.
Brief Scores:
India: 587 (Shubman Gill 269, Ravindra Jadeja 89; Shoaib Bashir 3/167) England: 407 (Jamie Smith 184, Harry Brook 158; Mohammed Siraj 6/70)
India 2nd innings: 64/1 (KL Rahul 28*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 28; Josh Tongue 1/12)
