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Key Points

Jamie Smith's unbeaten fifty steered England's recovery after Jasprit Bumrah's fiery spell rattled the hosts early. Bumrah dismissed Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Chris Woakes in a devastating opening burst. A dropped catch by KL Rahul gave Smith a lifeline, which he capitalised on brilliantly. The session swung back and forth as ball changes and lower-order resistance kept the contest finely balanced.

Key Points: Smith's Fifty Rescues England After Bumrah's Fiery Spell in Lord's Test

  • Smith's 50* anchors England's lower-order fightback
  • Bumrah's fiery spell removes Root, Stokes, and Woakes
  • KL Rahul drop proves costly for India
  • Ball changes disrupt India's momentum in see-saw session
3 min read

3rd Test: Smith leads England's recovery with fifty after Bumrah picks three scalps

Jamie Smith's unbeaten 50 leads England's recovery after Jasprit Bumrah's 3-wicket burst in a gripping Lord's Test session.

"Bumrah came back to castle Stokes with an absolute corker – Match Report"

London, July 11

Jamie Smith hit his second fifty of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series to steer England’s recovery in the third Test at Lord’s on Friday, especially after Jasprit Bumrah wreaked havoc with a fiery three-wicket spell.

At lunch, England reached 353/7 in 105 overs, with Smith and Brydon Carse unbeaten on 51 and 33 respectively, their unbroken eighth-wicket stand worth 82 runs. With the pitch being quicker, Bumrah was able to move the new ball both ways to dismiss England's overnight batters – Joe Root and Ben Stokes – within the first 30 minutes of the first session, before taking out Chris Woakes.

Smith, dropped on five by KL Rahul, made the most of his luck to bring up his sixth Test fifty and was rock solid alongside Carse, leading England’s lower-order fightback. For India, the timing of balls being replaced twice coincided with them going off the boil after Bumrah provided a platform to dismiss England for a low total.

The day began with Root carving Bumrah behind square for four to get his 37th Test ton off the first ball of the morning session and go past Rahul Dravid and Steve Smith on the overall centurions list. But Bumrah came back to castle Stokes with an absolute corker – getting one to angle in from around the wicket and hit top of off-stump with so much ferocity that it was knocked out of the ground.

Bumrah then got Root out for the 11th time in Tests with a full delivery which nipped in a touch, Root chopping onto his stumps to fall for 104. One delivery brought two wickets for Bumrah as he caught an outside edge on a tentative poke by Chris Woakes, who was given out only after India went upstairs for the review.

India could have got another wicket if Jamie Smith wasn’t dropped by KL Rahul at second slip. The visitors also managed to get the new ball changed after just 10.3 overs. That ball change brought a halt to India’s wicket-taking spree as Smith took three boundaries off Siraj and Bumrah before India had another ball change after just 48 deliveries.

With Smith leading a strong lower-order fightback and India spreading their field, Carse began to grow in confidence, taking boundaries off pacers and singles to bring up fifty of the eighth-wicket stand. Smith then creamed an off-drive off Nitish Kumar Reddy before bringing up his fifty off 52 balls with a single through backward square leg, as a see-saw session of Test cricket came to an end.

Brief scores: England 353/7 in 105 overs (Joe Root 104, Jamie Smith 51 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 4-63, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-62) against India.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

A
Ananya R
Why do we keep having these ball change issues? Feels suspicious when it always happens during our bowling spells. Smith played well but we gifted him that innings with the dropped catch.
K
Karan T
Typical Indian bowling - starts like fire then fizzles out. Need more consistency from other bowlers to support Bumrah. Shami's experience is being missed badly today.
S
Sarah B
As a neutral observer, this is fantastic Test cricket! Smith's counterattack after Bumrah's brilliance makes for compelling viewing. The Lord's crowd is getting their money's worth today.
V
Vikram M
Root's wicket was crucial but 353/7 is still 50 runs too many. Our batsmen need to show same application when our turn comes. Pitch seems to be easing out now.
P
Priya S
That Bumrah spell was pure magic yaar! 😍 But fielding has been below par. Hope we can wrap up England under 400. Need Pant to fire with the bat later!
N
Nikhil C
Respect to Smith for his gritty innings, but our bowlers lost intensity after those ball changes. DRS has been saving us - that Woakes wicket was crucial. Match evenly poised!

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