ENG vs IND 2nd Test Day 3 Session 2: Smith-Brook taking game away from IND

Smith scored his maiden 150, while Brook notched up his ninth Test hundred to put England in the driver's seat

After early setbacks, the hosts, England, turned the game on its head with Jamie Smith and Harry Brook making life miserable for the Indian bowlers. The duo extended their partnership to 271 by the end of the third session, taking England’s total to 355 for 5. The hosts now trail by only 232 runs in the innings.

 

In the second session, England carried forward the momentum from the first, continuing to score at a brisk pace and maintaining a run rate above 5. Brook went on to score his ninth Test century—and his first against India—mounting further misery on the visitors. Meanwhile, Jamie Smith, after being dropped on 121 by Nitish Reddy in the 54th over, converted his ton into 150. 

 

The Indian bowlers, meanwhile, looked completely clueless, frequently bowling short of length and failing to maintain their line. They did attempt some bodyline tactics, but the English pair managed to block those while capitalising on anything that allowed them room. The spin duo of Jadeja and Sundar also failed to impress, as England played them for boundaries with ease and at will.

 

England slowed down slightly in the final 30 minutes of the session but still managed to add 106 runs in the half without losing any wicket. Jamie Smith (157*) and Harry Brook (140*) will once again resume the English innings in the third session.

 

Earlier, India began Day 3 on a high, as Siraj removed Joe Root (22) and English skipper Ben Stokes (0) in the second over of the day with back-to-back deliveries, reducing England to 84 for 5. Just when it seemed like India had taken complete control, Jamie Smith and Harry Brook counterattacked, scoring at a fiery pace to bring the hosts back into the game. Both batters reached their fifties within the first hour of play as Indian bowlers looked off colour once again.

 

Prasidh Krishna—who had admitted after the first match that he conceded more runs than he would have liked—was once again among the culprits. In one of his overs, Jamie Smith smashed four boundaries and a six to collect 23 runs. The impact of England’s counterattack can be understood from the fact that when they lost their fifth wicket, their run rate was under 4; by the drinks break, however, it had surged. Smith continued the assault post-drinks and went on to score the joint fourth-fastest Test hundred for England just before the end of the session. 

England scorecard at tea day 3: 

England 1st Inning
355-5 (75 ov) CRR:4.73
Batter	Dismissal	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Zak Crawley	c K Nair b M Siraj	19	30	3	0	63.33
Ben Duckett	c S Gill b A Deep	0	5	0	0	0
Ollie Pope	c KL Rahul b A Deep	0	1	0	0	0
Joe Root	c R Pant b M Siraj	22	46	2	0	47.83
Harry Brook	Not out	140	209	15	1	66.99
Ben Stokes (C)	c R Pant b M Siraj	0	1	0	0	0
Jamie Smith (WK)	Not out	157	169	19	3	92.9
Extras	17 (b 0, Ib 5, w 1, nb 11, p 0)
Total	355 (5 wkts, 75 Ov)
Bowler	O	M	R	W	NB	ECO
Akash Deep	15	1	70	2	5	4.67
Mohammed Siraj	15	2	57	3	4	3.8
Prasidh Krishna	13	1	72	0	0	5.54
Nitish Kumar Reddy	6	0	29	0	0	4.83
Ravindra Jadeja	15	2	57	0	2	3.8
Washington Sundar	11	0	65	0	0	5.91