Cricket News: England Vs India 5th Test - Jonny Bairstow show but India has a 257 lead on Day 3
Three hundred twenty-five runs and eight wickets in a day, safely dominated by visitors as their lead swelled to 257 with seven wickets still in hand
England's Jonny Bairstow celebrates a century during day three of the fifth LV= Insurance Test Series match at Edgbaston Stadium, BirminghamBesides Jonny Bairstow's ton, Mohammed Siraj's four-wicket haul, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara's half-century, led India in a commanding position.
Third consecutive Test hundred for Jonny Bairstow
The day started with Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes attempting to anchor their trembling batting line-up from Day 2, where England struggled at 84/5. Shardul Thakur got an early breakthrough from Ben Stokes, while Jonny Bairstow struggled to put the bat on the ball. However, an altercation with Virat Kohli spurred him on and went frantic. The batter exploded his inning from 16 off 64 to 100 of 119 with the support of Sam Billings. This was his third consecutive test century, speaking volumes of his sublime form. After Mohammad Shami dismissed the power-hitter Jonny Bairstow, Siraj took the remaining wickets to bundle them at 284 to keep India in a strong position with a lead of 132 from the first innings.
Cheteshwar Pujara's fifty took the lead to 257
India lost Shubman Gill early to James Anderson in the second innings to establish a strong lead. Cheteshwar Pujara held one end firm, building small partnerships with Hanuma Vihari and Virat Kohli. Kohli looked in decent form before short pitch delivery from Ben Stokes showed him way back to the pavilion. Following this, Rishabh Pant joined Cheteshwar Pujara, who continued with his fearless play at a 60-plus strike rate to reach an unbeaten 30. In contrast, Cheteshwar Pujara made an unbeaten 50 off 139 to successfully expand the lead to 257 by the stumps of Day 3.
In the post-match conference, Virat Kohli said, "We've played against each other for a solid ten years now. It's a bit of craic. We're fiercely competitive on the field and that's what it's about. We're playing Test cricket and we're two competitors. It brings the best out of us. Whatever it takes, you want to get your team over the line, and that's part and parcel of the game."
India, till now, has been able to manage to be in a stronghold for three days of this Test match and will be hoping to reach the finish line. The fourth day will have a lot of exciting situations when two aggressive sides collide. It will be interesting to see if England bounces back in their second innings or if India continues to dominate the remaining days?