Third Test: There's no respite for England on Day 3
Kuldeep Yadav bounded in from the Media Box End at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot and kept England’s batsmen honest. There was bounce, there was turn there was an energy that was desperately needed on a good batting surface. And when play ended on the third day, there was Kuldeep again, a smile on his face, batting at the very same end, doing nightwatchman duties.
In the course of the day, Kuldeep had pricked the Bazball balloon and taken India from the doldrums to a position of strength. England began on 207 for 2 from only 35 overs, and were all set to make a mockery of India’s first-innings 445. Ben Duckett was in the mood and Joe Root not far behind.
But Jasprit Bumrah accounted for Root, whose reverse-ramp was well caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slip cordon. Kuldeep them had Jonny Bairstow trapped plumb in front, a loopy yet brisk delivery breaking back sharply to beat the shot. Bairstow was dead in the water and yet chose to review, showing just how flummoxed he was by the delivery.
With two quick wickets, India were back in the game and this was massively important given that they were without R Ashwin, who had to cut short his celebration of reaching 500 Test wickets to go back home for a family medical emergency. Ashwin’s absence spurred on India’s bowlers to lift and each one stepped up in inspiring fashion.
Kuldeep got lucky when a half-tracker lured Duckett (153) into a false shot that resulted in the simplest catch to Shubman Gill in the ring on the off side. From here on, though, it was a
