BIRMINGHAM: India finished day three of the second Test on 64-1 to lead England by 244 runs after they dismissed the hosts for 407 in the first innings at Edgbaston on Friday despite Jamie Smith’s commanding and unbeaten knock of 184.
After England’s horror start saw them slump to 84-5, Smith and Harry Brook transformed the innings in a masterclass of counter-attacking cricket as both smashed centuries in a crucial sixth-wicket partnership worth a precious 303 runs.
But England’s remarkable fightback ended in spectacular fashion when their last five wickets tumbled for just 20 runs after the new ball breathed life into the Indian fast bowlers.
Racing along at nearly seven runs an over under floodlights, India’s openers had brought up their 50-run partnership in no time before Josh Tongue struck to trap Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw, sparking immediate controversy.
Jaiswal conferred with opening partner K.L. Rahul whether to review the decision and when he finally did, England skipper Ben Stokes argued that the timer had already run down as the crowd booed.
But the review stood and India eventually lost it as the ball had been heading straight for leg stump, bringing Karun Nair to the crease.
Rahul (28) and Nair (seven) were at the crease at the end of day’s play, with a light drizzle threatening to spoil the party over the weekend with the match delicately poised.
In the first innings, Brook’s heroic innings came to an end when Akash Deep (4-88) had him bowled off a delivery that jagged back and hit the top of off stump.
Brook, who had been struggling with cramp after tea, walked off to the sound of the Edgbaston crowd singing his name.
The collapse rapidly gathered pace as Deep struck again when Chris Woakes edged to the slips where Nair took another smart catch.
Mohammed Siraj then completed a devastating spell by trapping both Brydon Carse and Tongue lbw for ducks to complete a five-wicket haul.
Last man Shoaib Bashir was welcomed with a bouncer to the helmet from Siraj, which required England to assess him due to the concussion protocol, but he was bowled off the next delivery.
As Siraj finished with figures of 6-70, Smith was left stranded on 184, a magnificent performance overshadowed by the team’s stunning capitulation that saw six England batters departing for ducks.
Earlier, Smith and Brook had turned Edgbaston into their personal playground as their partnership crushed the India bowling attack’s spirit.
Brook had endured a heartbreaking dismissal on 99 in the first test victory at Headingley, but this time there was no stopping him as he and Smith looked completely at ease in building their sixth-wicket stand.
The 26-year-old Brook brought up his ninth Test century in the second session with a boundary, raising his bat and helmet to the crowd before pointing his bat at the heavens, dedicating his hundred to his late grandmother Pauline who died in March.
It was a long toil in the sun for India, who had started the day perfectly when Siraj dismissed Joe Root and Stokes in consecutive deliveries in the day’s second over.
Stokes’s golden duck, his first in 200 Test innings, meant three of England’s top six were dismissed without scoring, following Ben Duckett’s and Ollie Pope’s ducks off consecutive deliveries from Deep late on day two.
SCOREBOARD
INDIA (1st Innings) 587 (S. Gill 269, R. Jadeja 89, Y. Jaiswal 87; S. Bashir 3-167)
ENGLAND (1st Innings, overnight 77-3):
Z. Crawley c Nair b Siraj 19
B. Duckett c Gill b Deep 0
O. Pope c Rahul b Deep 0
J. Root c Pant b Siraj 22
H. Brook b Deep 158
B. Stokes c Pant b Siraj 0
J. Smith not out 184
C. Woakes c Nair b Deep 5
B. Carse lbw b Siraj 0
J. Tongue lbw b Siraj 0
S. Bashir b Siraj 0
EXTRAS (LB-5, NB-12, W-2) 19
TOTAL (all out, 89.3 overs) 407
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-13 (Duckett), 2-13 (Pope), 3-25 (Crawley), 4-84 (Root), 5-84 (Stokes), 6-387 (Brook), 7-395 (Woakes), 8-396 (Carse), 9-407 (Tongue)
BOWLING: Deep 20-2-88-4 (6nb, 1w), Siraj 19.3-70-6 (4nb), Krishna 13-1-72-0 (1w), Reddy 6-0-29-0, Jadeja 17-2-70-0 (2nb), Sundar 14-0-73-0
INDIA (2nd Innings):
Y. Jaiswal lbw b Tongue 28
K.L. Rahul not out 28
K. Nair not out 7
EXTRAS (LB-1) 1
TOTAL (for one wicket, 13 overs) 64
STILL TO BAT: S. Gill, R. Pant, N. Reddy, R. Jadeja, W. Sundar, A. Deep, M. Siraj, P. Krishna
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-51 (Jaiswal)
BOWLING: Woakes 5-0-28-0, Carse 5-1-23-0, Tongue 3-1-12-1
