Bumrah cameo and three-for make it India’s day amid rain breaks

India had the best of a stop-start day, adding 78 with their last three standing wickets and then taking four England wickets by the time they scored 78. On a day that only 39 overs were possible because of rain, India placed one hand firmly on the Pataudi Trophy, to secure which they needed merely a draw.

After Ravindra Jadeja completed his third Test century, India’s first out-and-out fast-bowler captain (Kapil Dev was an allrounder), Jasprit Bumrah broke a record held by Brian Lara, along with George Bailey and Keshav Maharaj, even before he came on to bowl, scoring 29 in a 35-run over from Stuart Broad, both a world record for most runs by a batter in an over and the most expensive over in Test cricket.

After adding 41 for the last wicket with Mohammed Siraj, Bumrah went on to take three wickets in his first spell, broken by rain breaks that helped him bowl seven overs on the trot. With India leading by 332 runs and only five England wickets standing at the end of two days, this Test was fast headed towards a territory from where only one team can win.

Jadeja began the day 17 short of a century, but showed no hurry to get there as he kept farming the strike with Mohammed Shami for company. He got to the landmark just before the second new ball became available with England trying short balls against Shami. It looked like a ploy used when waiting for the new ball, but it brought Shami 16 runs before he ramped Stuart Broad straight to fine third man in the last over of the old ball. Against the new ball, Jadeja tried to attack James Anderson but was bowled.

What followed is hard to decipher. At 375 for 9, with three-over-old ball, Broad began bowling short at Bumrah with a strong field square and behind on the leg side and no slip in place on the off side. It was almost like England had erased Lord’s from their minds where Bumrah and Shami made them pay for their short lengths. To make matters worse, Broad bowled five wides and also a no-ball that flew off the top edge for a six. Also Bumrah drove a full toss through the vacant mid-on region, top-edged another four and smacked clean another hook for a six. With one four through midwicket, Bumrah himself landed on his back but middled the shot. The only consolation for England was that Anderson ended the India innings with his 32nd five-wicket haul in Tests.

An absolutely torrid examination followed for England’s batters. Under overcast skies, Bumrah found just enough movement and never faltered in his length. To make it worse, he got two rain breaks in his first spell, much like Anderson got one to prolong his afternoon spell on day one.

Two of Bumrah’s three wickets came off the seventh and eighth balls of the over at a time when batters might have had reason to be thankful they had played an over out. No, said the third umpire, calling no-balls just in time. Alex Lees failed to cover the angle on a delivery from around the wicket, getting beaten so comprehensively he got both lbw and bowled to it. Of course, bowled takes precedence in such cases.

Both Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope played forgettable shots to get out, driving away from the body to balls that were not nearly full enough. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer caught them in the slips.

In the final one hour, Shami turned up the heat, constantly troubling Root, which probably drew some loose shots from him. Root tried many tricks to steer Shami off his length, but Shami was persistent. He drove away from the body, he walked at Shami, he shuffled outside the line, and just about survived that Bumrah-Shami interrogation when Mohammed Siraj came on half an hour before stumps.

For that whole over, Root kept trying to late-cut Siraj, but the movement off the pitch kept cramping him up. It was the wobble-seam ball that tends to go like an offcutter for Siraj that kept denying Root, and eventually the last ball of the over seamed in appreciably to take the edge through to Rishabh Pant.

Shami was rewarded for his persistence with the wicket of nightwatchman Jack Leach. Jonny Bairstow, who scored 394 runs at a strike rate of 120.12 against New Zealand, didn’t find anything to hit here and ended the day unbeaten on 12 off 47. That should tell you that a batter’s intent can’t regularly work independent of the quality of bowling and conditions. (cricinfo)