Birmingham: England is six wickets down on day three with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma causing most of the damage, sharing three wickets apiece. However, action has been interrupted due to bad lighting at the venue and the umpires have requested players to leave the field.
The hosts have found their way back into the match through Sam Curran, who has been leading the charge alongside Jos Buttler. Virat Kohli and co. will aim to reanalyze their plans and strive to come back stronger.
England 100-7 after 35 overs:
HUNDRED UP! Long way to go for Joe Root’s men but the visitors won’t let them off the hook too easily.
England 86-6 after 30.4 overs:
WICKET! Ishant Sharma is changing the course of the game and England loses Ben Stokes just before lunch. Late movement off the ball nicks an edge from Stokes which carries to Virat Kohli at third slip.
England 72-4 after 27 overs:
WICKET! Ishant comes round the wicket with a sharp inswinger. The late movement takes the outside edge of Malan’s blade which is caught by Ajinkya Rahane.
England 40-3 after 16 overs:
WICKET! India is celebrating and Joe Root is content walking away. Pitched outside off, turns down leg as the batsman tries to run it fine. But there is Rahul at leg slip who grabs it in a flash.
After restoring parity on day two of the opening Test in Edgbaston thanks to Virat Kohli’s stunning century, the visitors will look forward to cut short England’s lead on Friday. With India bundling out for 287, Ravichandran Ashwin sent Alastair Cook packing early on just before stumps and will look to carry on the same momentum.
The number one Test side had a change to restrict India to a lower total had it not been for some dropped catches but they will now want to make up for the misses with the bat. The onus will be on Keaton Jennings and Joe Root to build a big partnership followed by the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler, who seems to be nursing a finger injury.
Joe Root’s men seemed to be edging their rivals but Kohli has them back in the game. Who will take the advantage on day three?
