Jasprit Bumrah's five-wicket masterclass and KL Rahul's elegant batting performance cancelled out Harry Brook's heartbreak at Headingley, with the first-ever Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test being delicately poised at day three's close.
England were dismissed for 465, leaving India with a six-run first-innings lead. Bumrah led the Indian bowling effort with returns of 5 for 83 in 24.4 overs, claiming his 14th Test five-wicket haul. Importantly, this was his third such effort in English conditions and took him joint with Kapil Dev for most five-wicket hauls by an Indian bowler in away Tests (12).
His tireless efforts made sure the match would be settled in an intense second-innings battle.
India's fielding, though, was quite disappointing as four chances were spilled off the bowling of Bumrah. Though Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj took wickets, both were missing the control to check the run flow.
With the bat in hand, Rahul projected tranquility and class, scoring an unbeaten 47 from seven boundaries, which included four textbook cover drives. India ended the day at 90 for 2 from 23.5 overs, taking their lead to 96 runs before play was abandoned due to rain.
Skipper Shubman Gill was unbeaten on six, and India will hope to cement their stand when play resumes on day four. Brydon Carse provided England with an early success in India's second innings, getting extra bounce and movement to remove Yashasvi Jaiswal, who edged behind to Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
Playing his Test debut, B Sai Sudharsan displayed composure with two early boundaries and a conservative approach, playing late and with soft hands. Rahul's answer was easy—beauty on-off drives off Carse and a square drive off Josh Tongue and pull off Shoaib Bashir showcased his timing and fluency.
Sudharsan added some more boundaries to his tally and got a lifeline when Ben Duckett dropped him in the gully. But before stumps, Ben Stokes got the better of Sudharsan, who clipped an inswinger to midwicket where the England skipper himself took the catch to end Sudharsan's innings on 30.
Earlier during the day, England batted again at 209/3, behind by 262, and Brook did not take long to establish himself, slashing Prasidh for four before hitting him over midwicket for six. His overnight associate Ollie Pope scored only six more runs before edging to Rishabh Pant off Prasidh, who had registered his 150th Test catch.
Brook continued to dominate, pushing boundaries with panache through ramps, lofted drives, and steers at the right time. Stokes struggled to find his feet, scoring a laborious 20 off 52 before edging to Pant off Siraj—a wicket that drew an openly frustrated response from the England captain.
Jamie Smith appeared assured, picking boundaries off Siraj and Shardul Thakur, and just managed to evade a sharp inside edge off Ravindra Jadeja at short leg that escaped Sudharsan. Brook also had luck, as Pant was unable to finish a tough rebound catch when he failed in a take off Jadeja before lunch.
After lunch, Smith launched the attack at Prasidh with a four and six off consecutive short balls. But his next pull bid was his undoing—excellent relay work by Sudharsan and Jadeja led to his dismissal after a mistimed shot.
Brook, continuing to punish anything loose, made the most of Siraj's wild lines and came up with consecutive boundaries. He received another let-off on 83 when Jaiswal dropped a sharp opportunity at gully. Though he survived those opportunities, Brook's stay was also cut short in tragic fashion—he mistimed a pull off Prasidh on 99, offering a simple catch to long leg.
India's wayward bowling enabled Carse and Chris Woakes to combine a counter-attacking 55-run stand. Wookes marked reaching 2,000 Test runs in style by hitting Prasidh for two successive sixes—one over midwicket and the second over third man. Carse replicated this with boundaries off Siraj before the Indian pacer cleaned him up with an aimed yorker.
Woakes' defiance was ended when Bumrah broke his defence with the fuller ball that shook his stumps. This was followed by another gem that smashed Josh Tongue's off-stump as Bumrah ended the innings with a five-wicket haul, handing India a narrow victory and a slender yet vital lead.
India's openers then came back to the middle, Rahul's calmness and Sudharsan's bright knock ensuring the lead was taken to the end before weather spoiled play, putting the match precariously poised going into the second-last day.
Brief Scores:
India: 471 & 90/2 in 23.5 overs (KL Rahul 47*, B Sai Sudharsan 30; Ben Stokes 1/18, Brydon Carse 1/27)
England: 465 in 100.4 overs (Ollie Pope 106, Harry Brook 99; Jasprit Bumrah 5/83, Prasidh Krishna 3/128)
India are ahead by 96 runs
Read also| 1st Test: Tongue’s Four-Wicket Haul Restricts India to 471 Despite Pant’s Brilliant 134
