England are 251/3 on stumps on Day 1.
Good batters generally convert ones into twos. But when the fielder is Ravindra Jadeja, the batter is surely forced to think twice before leaving the crease. In the 83rd over of the first innings of the third ENG vs IND Test at Lord’s, India’s gun fielder shared a light note with Joe Root. The English batter hit the ball towards deep point, where Jadeja was fielding. Root called for two runs, but by the time he went for the second, Jadeja was quickly onto the ball. Once Root decided to withdraw from the second run, Jadeja tempted him to for the run. Moreover, he lobbed the ball down on the ground to entice Root to go for the run. However, the latter decided to stay his ground and the both of them shared a good laugh.
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After Ben Stokes elected to bat first in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the hosts had a decent start. There were no wickets lost in the first 13 overs, but then Nitish Reddy happened! The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder went on to dismiss both the English openers in the same over to push England on the back foot. But a 109-run partnership between Joe Root and Ollie Pope steered the hosts towards safe waters. Ollie Pope was dismissed to Jadeja’s delivery on the very first ball after tea. Jasprit Bumrah soon joined the party and sent Harry Brook back in style. Skipper Ben Stokes and Root then got together to stitch a partnership that reads 79* on stumps. While Stokes is unbeaten on 39, Root will resume the second day on 99*, and England on 251/4.
Watch this video, where Jadeja is seen tempting Root to go for a run in the 83rd over the match. The Indian was really quick to pounce on the ball from the boundary, making Root think about the second run.
The series started with a bang in Leeds. Captain Shubman Gill scored a tremendous 147 on captaincy debut. To couple that, vice-captain Rishabh Pant scored hundreds in both innings of the Test. India set England a target of 371, which the hosts chased without breaking a sweat. India became the first team in the history of Test cricket to lose a match after scoring five centuries. The chips were down. Questions were being raised. And the sacking chats had begun. Prasidh Krishna bowled with lack of discipline, especially in the first innings. But more than anything, dropped catches cost India the game.
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In the second Test at Birmingham, it was all India. Apart from the 303-run partnership from Harry Brook and Jamie Smith, the Test match was in complete control of the visitors. Being put into bat again, Gill scored 269 this time. The Indians piled misery on the English players, keeping them on the field for longer durations of time. As a result, they were tired and fatigued. India scored another big total in the second innings and set the hosts a target of 608 to chase. This time, they weren’t looking to chase. They played for the draw, and succumbed to India, handing the visitors a 336-run victory.
The series came to the Home of Cricket with 1-1 as the scoreline. And now the deck is lively. Jofra Archer is back in the mix and things looked good for England on the first Day. But there was a difference. They didn’t score their runs as quick as they usually do. It wasn’t Bazball style cricket. It was proper Test cricket, in Shubman Gill’s words. This series continues to amaze.
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