Key Points

India were very much primed to take the lead after KL Rahul hit exactly 100 runs, while Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja made 74 and 72, respectively. But India lost their last four wickets for 11 runs to be bowled out for 387, the score which England made in their first innings.

For the hosts, Chris Woakes was the standout bowler with 3-84 and ensured that the game’s fate would be decided via a second innings shootout. With 10 minutes left at the end of day three’s play, tempers began to flare up as Crawley pulled away four times before facing the third ball from Jasprit Bumrah.

A few choice words were exchanged by India skipper Shubman Gill, who believed England were employing time-wasting tactics. Crawley was then hit on the glove, so he took the moment to check his hand and called for the physio.

Things began to heat up again as Gill made a sarcastic clap and gestured towards the pavilion, even as Crawley was checked for his injury, before being beaten by a seaming away delivery from Bumrah to end a fascinating day’s play.

The final session began with Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy hitting a boundary each, before Stokes again conjured a wicket out of nowhere. Stokes bowled a vicious short ball which bounced very high and took Reddy’s glove edge behind to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, as the 50-run stand came to an end. Jadeja marched forward to bring up his third successive half-century of this series with a lovely drive past mid-off off Root for four.

After a brief period of patience, Jadeja lofted Root for six, before cutting him for four more. While Jadeja kept the scoreboard ticking by taking two fours off Brydon Carse – one of which came off an inside edge- Washington Sundar got going by punching Stokes for four, before bringing out a classy inside-out lofted six off Root.

But Woakes found the edge on Jadeja’s flick and Smith took a fine diving catch down the leg-side behind to dismiss the batter for 72 off 131 balls. Akash Deep survived two lbw appeals off Woakes, before a superb, diving, one-handed effort from Brook, moving to his right at third slip, ended his stay at the crease off Brydon Carse’s bowling.

Woakes then produced an absolute jaffa of a delivery – nipping away a little – to take shoulder edge of Bumrah’s bat to Smith behind. A single from Washington earlier brought the scores level, before he mistimed a pull to Brook at very deep third man, as India lost five wickets in the session for 71 runs.

Brief scores:

England 387 and 2/0 in 1 over (Zak Crawley 2 not out) lead India 387 in 119.2 overs (KL Rahul 100, Rishabh Pant 74, Ravindra Jadeja 72; Chris Woakes 3-84, Jofra Archer 2-52) by two runs

- IANS