Jamie Smith achieved a career-high score of 184*, while Harry Brook contributed 158 in a dynamic 303-run partnership, enabling England to evade the follow-on during the second Test at Edgbaston. However, a series of ducks from the rest of the team and a six-wicket haul from Mohammad Siraj allowed India to establish a substantial lead of 180 runs. Additionally, the visitors accumulated 64 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in the final hour before play was halted on Day 3 in the overcast conditions of Birmingham.
Jamie Smith and Harry Brook fight for England
It was a foreboding beginning for the home team, who found themselves under significant pressure just 10 balls into the day as Siraj struck on consecutive deliveries to remove two crucial wickets. The first to go was Root, who attempted to flick a leg-side delivery and edged it to the left of Rishabh Pant behind the stumps. Ben Stokes was then met with a fierce short ball right away that rose awkwardly and brushed the handle of his bat on its way to the wicketkeeper.
Reduced to 84/5, England appeared to be in dire straits, but the entry of Smith injected urgency into their scoring. They were further assisted by a weak slip cordon that provided easy scoring chances. The English wicketkeeper sent the hat-trick ball straight down the ground for a four to get started, initiating a remarkable counterattack that lasted for more than two sessions.
Brook took the cue and began to find regular boundaries off the Indian pacers as well. He reached his half-century in 72 balls, elegantly driving through the covers for three. At the other end, Smith launched an assault on Prasidh Krishna, nearly catching up to the half-centurion in just six balls. Smith struck four boundaries and a six in a 23-run over, racing to 49 off 38 balls by the time drinks were called. The English wicketkeeper was relentless in countering India’s short-ball strategy, effortlessly pulling Prasidh to the boundary.
India introduced spin from both ends, but Smith greeted Washington Sundar with consecutive drives through extra cover, outscoring his partner at the other end. He then attacked Ravindra Jadeja with a four and a six in the following over. Just before Lunch, he reached an 80-ball century with the second of two consecutive fours off Jadeja, sharing the record with his partner at the other end. Despite the early setbacks, the session belonged to the hosts, who amassed 172 runs during it.
Thanks to the record-breaking performances of Smith and Brook, England successfully evaded the follow-on during a wicket-less afternoon session, which only added to India’s frustration. Although Smith and Brook did not maintain the same rapid pace as they had in the morning, they were sufficiently effective in keeping India at bay. Brook achieved his ninth Test century – in just 27 Tests – with a cut shot off Prasidh shortly after Lunch, while Smith was fortunate to be reprieved on 121 when Rishabh Pant dropped a challenging chance to his right. Undeterred, the pair reached the 200-run partnership milestone on the next ball, marking the first occasion an English duo has accomplished this against India for a sixth-wicket stand or lower. Aside from that missed opportunity, the two established batters offered very few chances.
After a slight slowdown, Smith’s boundary count surged once more when Nitish Reddy returned to the attack. He advanced into the 140s with consecutive cover-drives and pulls off the medium pacer, ultimately reaching his maiden Test 150 off 144 balls – the fifth fastest for England. Following the change of ball, the spinners returned from both ends, managing to restrict the free flow of runs after the new ball yielded 22 runs in just five overs. Nevertheless, the duo achieved the 250-run partnership mark by the 70th over
Siraj bowls out England at around 400
Immediately after Tea, India opted for an LBW appeal in the very first over of the session when Brook failed in an attempted reverse-sweep. However, ball-tracking indicated that the delivery was missing the stumps, allowing Brook to continue and eventually reach his 150 in 222 deliveries. India seized the new ball as soon as it became available, which brought about the change in fortunes the visitors had been hoping for. Once again, it was Akash who provided the breakthrough. Just after the sixth-wicket pair reached the 300-run milestone, the pacer delivered a ball that sharply nipped back in from outside off, beating the inside edge and crashing into Brook’s off-stump.
The collapse occurred rapidly from that point onward. Chris Woakes was present with Smith when England managed to evade the follow-on, but the allrounder did not remain for long. Attempting an ambitious drive, Woakes instead produced a thick outside edge to first slip, where Karun Nair executed a low catch. Akash concluded with figures of 4 for 88.
Siraj effectively dismantled the tail. He secured his fourth wicket of the innings after a review, having initially been denied in an LBW appeal against Bryon Carse. However, Siraj managed to make the ball nip back in, striking the English bowler on the front pad, clearly in front as he advanced in defense.
Meanwhile, Smith, who had just set the record for the highest Test score by an English batter upon reaching 174, was left to contend with the tail and began to swing his arms more liberally. A loose delivery from Akash received the treatment it warranted, resulting in a maximum over the long-on boundary, followed by a four to long-off just one ball later. However, this counterattack was short-lived, as Siraj ensured that the English ‘keeper ran out of partners at the other end.
Josh Tongue requested a desperate review after being given out LBW, but the ball tracking only supported Siraj’s decision. With his fourth Test five-wicket haul secured, Siraj concluded with a sixth wicket as he dismissed Shoaib Bashir. England’s last three batsmen all failed to score, resulting in a total of six ducks on their first-innings scorecard, while the Smith-Brook duo accounted for 342 of the team’s 407.
India gets a good start in 2nd innings too
During the 13 overs that the Indian openers faced under the lights, the weather unexpectedly darkened, allowing runs and boundaries to come quite easily. Yashasvi Jaiswal became the joint-fastest player, alongside Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, to reach the 2000 Test runs milestone for India, achieving this in 40 innings after scoring 10 in the second innings with a fortunate edge that sailed through gully to the boundary.
In a partnership of 51 runs, the Indian openers struck 11 boundaries between them, prompting England to make an early change in their bowling attack. Tongue fulfilled his role effectively by trapping the left-handed batsman LBW, but drama unfolded when England raised an objection to Jaiswal’s delayed DRS appeal. Despite the home team’s concerns, the umpires accepted the review, only for the ball-tracking technology to confirm the on-field decision. As the day came to a close, Jaiswal was dismissed after a quick 28 runs off 22 balls, which included six boundaries.
At the conclusion of Day 3, India held a lead of 244 runs with nine wickets remaining, but the rain forecast for the next two days could jeopardize their chances of leveling the series.
SCORECARD: India 587 & 64/1 (KL Rahul 28*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 28; Josh Tongue 1-12) lead England 407 (Jamie Smith 184*, Harry Brook 158; Mohd. Siraj 6-70, Akash Deep 4-88) by 244 runs
