Joe Root remained unbeaten on 180 as Indian bowlers prevented England from taking a massive first-innings lead at the end of Day 3 in the second Test.
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The third day of the second Test between India and England solely belonged to one player – Joe Root. The English skipper was at his lethal best as he carried his national team on his shoulders, remaining unbeaten on 180 as Day 3 came to an end with England getting all out for 391. Root was on course for a well-deserved double century, but the batsmen on the other end of the wicket endured a late collapse as India clawed its way back into the evenly contested second Test match on Saturday. Following India’s batting fiasco on the second day, England resumed the third day on the front foot. First Jonny Bairstow-Root frustrated the visitors before Jos Buttler continued to do the same with his captain. But once Buttler was dismissed and not long after Moeen Ali was also sent back into the dressing room, cracks started to appear in the home side’s batting line-up.
Indian bowlers, led by Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma, took advantage of the situation and sent the tail-enders packing to the dressing room. From a pretty comfortable position of 341/5, the hosts were bowled out for 391. They still lead India by 27 runs, however, the visitors did well to prevent them from taking a commanding first-innings lead. James Anderson was the last to depart, clean bowled by Mohammed Shami. With the dismissal of the veteran bowler, the day’s action came to an end. India will hope to build on that late momentum to set England a challenging target in the final two days of play.
Twin strikes, courtesy @ImIshant! ? ?
Englande lose Moeen Ali and Sam Curran on successive deliveries. #TeamIndia #ENGvIND
Follow the match ? https://t.co/KGM2YELLde pic.twitter.com/wqxVOHfC1l
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 14, 2021
Earlier, England batsman dictated the play in the first session. Root and Bairstow blocked everything thrown at them as a total of 97 runs was scored in the session, while India remained wicket-less. At the start of the second session, Siraj got the breakthrough as Bairstow edged one to Indian skipper Virat Kohli in slips. The English batsman departed for a well-played 57.
Buttler arrived in the middle and started to build a partnership of his own with his skipper, who reached his century following a single on the offside. Just as the partnership started to blossom, Ishant got the breakthrough, taking the bails off Buttler’s stumps as the home side was reduced to 283/5.
Moeen Ali was the new batsman. He displayed incredible resistance in the middle. Known for his attacking abilities, Ali showed his defensive prowess on Saturday as England were eyeing a good first-innings lead. However, it was Ishant Sharma who brought India right back into the contest. Ali’s (27 runs off 72 balls) thick edge was well taken by Kohli in the slip. On the very next ball, Sam Curran was dismissed for a golden duck by Sharma.
Two wickets in as many deliveries gave the visitors hope of coming back into the match. Indian bowlers started to dictate the play as the home side were hanging on in the middle. Siraj trapped Ollie Robinson (6 off 22) for a lbw and soon after England lost Mark Wood (5 off 23) to a bizarre run out.
Root took an aggressive stance as he started to run out of partners on the other end. But when Mohammed Shami dismissed Anderson, the day’s play was over. The last man standing – Joe Root – was denied a shot at a well-deserved double hundred. With two more days left, both teams will back themselves to win the second Test and lead the series.
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