England reach 152 for 5 at tea on Day 3
SOUTHAMPTON: India maintained upper hand after England skipper Joe Root was run-out for 48 as the home team reached 152 for 5 in their second innings at tea on the third day of the fourth Test.
England now have an overall lead of 125 runs with Jos Buttler (22, 39 balls) and stodgy Ben Stokes (20, 79 balls) at the crease.
This was after a well-set Root was back in the pavilion for 48 after Mohammed Shami’s direct throw found him short of crease.
Having removed Keaton Jennings (36) at the stroke of lunch, Mohammed Shami (2/40) was on a hat-trick when he removed Jonny Bairstow (0) off the very first ball post break.
However Stokes and Root negotiated the Indian bowling well for the next 14 overs before the skipper didn’t ground his bat properly while sprinting towards the striker’s end.
Shami bowled a sharp and
precise spell, giving nothing away to the batsmen.
It could be seen in how England only added 60 runs in the session, never getting ahead of the scoring rate, particularly as they were forced to rebuild the innings again.
The pivotal moment came in the 46th over, when Shami ran out Root with a direct throw from mid-on.
Thereafter, Buttler and Stokes batted with calmness in a bid to bring England back in the game. By tea time, they had added 30 runs for the sixth wicket, with the scoring coming only in spurts.
Ravichandran Ashwin (0-46) bowled a long spell in this second session and albeit wicket-less, he kept it tight, conceding at only 2.2 per over.
This was after England were placed at 92-3 at lunch with Shami trapping Keaton Jennings (36) last ball before the break, with DRS overruling the batsman’s referral. It ended the 59-run partnership between Jennings and Root.
Starting from overnight 6-0, England made a slow start with openers Jennings and Alastair Cook (12) made a slow start, putting on 24 for the first wicket. They were more intent on staying at the wicket, even as Indian pacers didn’t get as much purchase they did in the first innings.
Despite slow proceedings, Jasprit Bumrah (1-31) got the breakthrough in the 13th over as Cook edged to KL Rahul at second slip, who held a juggling catch on third attempt.