Opener Ben Duckett led England’s strong response with a scintillating hundred as the visitors raced to 207/2 at stumps after bowling out India for 445 on the second day of the third Test here on Friday.
At stumps, Duckett was batting on 133 and his teammate Joe Root was 9 not out as England scored their runs in only 35 overs to trail by 238 runs.
The day also saw Ravichandran Ashwin become only the second Indian bowler to take 500 wickets in Test cricket, with the wicket of Zak Crawley (15).
Duckett got to his century in just 88 balls, the fastest by an Englishman against India.
Earlier, in his first international outing, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel batted very well for a neat 46.
India resumed the second day on their overnight score of 326/5 with Jadeja and night-watchman Kuldeep Yadav (1) at the crease.
After losing two early wickets, India showed resilience with contributions from Ashwin, Jurel, and Bumrah, guiding the team to a total of 445.
The pitch still favours batsmen and isn’t displaying any extravagant behaviour. Whether it deteriorates significantly remains uncertain. England is expected to come back strongly, continuing their onslaught.
For England, returning pacer Mark Wood finished with figures of 4/114 in 27.5 overs.
India’s response to this will play a crucial role in determining the eventual outcome. The upcoming day promises another captivating session, and we’ll be there early.
Brief scores: India 1st innings: 445 all out in 130.5 overs (Rohit Sharma 131, Ravindra Jadeja 112, Sarfaraj Khan 62; Mark Wood 4/114).
England 1st innings: 207/2 in 35 overs (Ben Duckett 133 batting).
