(Can the Indians maintain their performance at Lord’s or England fight back to keep the series evenly balance? Catch all the live cricket score and live updates of the match here)
England try really hard to get one more wicket towards the end of the day, but Pujara and Vijay have done well to keep them at bay. Two days of continuous English domination — not a usual sight of late. India trail by a mammoth 544 runs, and third day would be very crucial for both the sides.
Chris Jordan has been introduced into the attack in place of Stuart Broad. There is a talk of Broad not being fully fit for the game. Indians are not rushing for anything at the moment.
Full marks to James Anderson as he gets England the first breakthrough. Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t had good outing in England so far, and his poor run continues as Anderson gets him caught at the first slip. The England pacer is totally pumped up at the moment. Dhawan was stuck in the crease as the ball brushed the shoulder of his bat and went straight into the hands of the England captain. Cheteshwar Pujara walks in.
OUT! S Dhawan c Cook b Anderson 6(17)
Indians have begun on a confident note. Both Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan are watching the ball well. Both the batsmen have hit a boundary each.
Murali Vijay begins the proceedings for India with a four in the first over off James Anderson. The Indians scramble to add two more runs off Stuart Broad in the second over.
Buttler played that innings which England needed the most. He smashed a quickfire 85, studded with nine boundaries and three sixes which pushed England past 550. Buttler’s dismissal showed England were waiting for his century, as perhaps they did not have any fixed score in mind to declare at. With Ian Bell at the crease, somehow they were not getting the acceleration. Stay tuned for India’s reply on this lifeless track at Southampton…
Ravindra Jadeja cleans up Jos Buttler, who gets an inside edge into the wickets. Buttler misses out on what could have been a memorable century on debut.
OUT! J Buttler b Jadeja 85(83)
Jos Buttler is leading England’s charge at the moment as after Ian Bell’s dismissal, they are scoring quite easily. The Indians look completely out of energy and inspiration, which is again playing in England’s favour.
Had a little bit of Luck but in @josbuttler England have unearthed IMO a superstar ..
Jos Buttler becomes the eighth wicketkeeper in England’s history to smash a half-century on debut. But a minor blip in the over of Bhuvneshwar as Bell departs on a mistimed hit for 167. Bell roars back to form with a superb knock, which included 19 boundaries and three sixes.
OUT! I Bell c Pankaj b Bhuvneshwar 167(256)
Jos Buttler smashes a six and follows it up with a four as England go past 500 in the series for the first time.
England looking to accelerate after a slow start to this session. Another milestone for Ian Bell, as he crosses the 150-run mark. This is highest score after that innings of 235 against India when they toured in 2011.
England have resumed post lunch, and everyone’s wondering what their strategy could possibly be. They have added 13 runs in five overs.
India did claim couple of wickets but this session too goes to England. Ian Bell roared back to form with his 21st Test ton, putting his side in complete command in this game. No assistance to the bowlers so far on this wicket.
Nervous debut for Jos Buttler. The right-handed batsman gets an outside edge off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ajinkya Rahane takes a really low catch at second slip. Television replays too could not help the umpires arrive at any conclusion. Buttler stays.
Another close chance for the England wicketkeeper as an outside edge off the final ball falls short of Shikhar Dhawan at the first slip. Dhawan is standing way far behind.
Short ball continues to be a worry for Moeen Ali as he once again falls to it. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bangs in one really short, and the ball brushes the bottom of the bat. Another wicket for India.
OUT! M Ali c Rahane b Bhuvneshwar 12(28)
Ian Bell brings up his 21st Test century with a superb six — over the bowler’s head. England also cross the 400-run mark. Bell follows it up with a four and another six straight down the ground. This was his third six off Jadeja. Another four off the second last ball as England add 21 runs in that over.
Ian Bell is into his 90s now. The right-handed batsman is batting cautiously with India deploying a unique tactics of giving their bowlers spells as short as of one over.
India are giving one-over spells to their bowlers at the moment. Interesting tactic anyways, it gets them a wicket.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t had a great time at Southampton, but he has finally managed a wicket at last. The right-arm India seamer pitches one outside off, making the batsman play. Root is out after a brief knock. Moeen Ali is the new man in.
OUT! J Root c Dhoni b Bhuvneshwar 3(25)
England begin where they left at in the first session. Bell is flourishing at the moment and is making most of the lose balls that the Indians are sending down. The wicket continues to assist the hosts, who look set for a strong total in the first innings. Bell is 23 runs away from his 21st Test century.
England win another session in this crucial Test match. The wicket of Gary Ballance was the only minor blip, otherwise everything went in their favour. The hosts added 111 more runs to their total, and there is an assumption that England would be looking any total above 500 on this placid track.
Finally! India make a breakthrough and it is Rohit Sharma who has done the job for them. Bowls one that bounces a little more than expected, which surprises Gary Ballance, who gets an outside edge. MS Dhoni takes another sharp catch in the game to end another long innings. Ballance registers career best of 156. He added 142 runs with Bell.
OUT! Ballance c Dhoni b Rohit 156(288)
expect england to mount an attack after lunch. look to reach 525-550 in time to give india about 25 overs.
Another landmark for Gary Ballance, who crosses the 150-run mark for the first time in his Test career. This is also the first time any batsman has scored a 150 plus score at Southampton. England well and truly in command here.
England are cruising comfortably at the moment. The scoring rate is above 3.5 at the moment. For India, nothing is clicking for them at the moment.
Another England batsman finds lost form as this time it is Ian Bell. The batsman takes a single off Shami and brings up his 42nd fifty in Tests. Celebrates it in a composed manner. And of course, shows the back of the back and not the front (where the sponsor logo lies).
England are on a roll at the moment. Ballance and Bell have batted comfortably so far on the second day, while the Indians have not looked like making any impact. Runs are coming in easily for the hosts.
There does not seem to be much life in this pitch. Ballance and Bell are making merry, helped by some poor bowling on Day Two. Mohammed Shami, Pankaj Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have all looked ineffective.
After Alastair Cook, it is Ian Bell’s turn of making most of the opportunity. England batsmen are in no pressure, and Bell has the freedom of scoring at the rate he likes. He is watching the ball carefully, and not allowing the Indians to make any damage. Bell smashes a fine cover drive off Bhuvneshwar to move to 29.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar starts the proceedings on the second day for India and bowls a maiden over. Gary Ballance will look to consolidate further in this innings.
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the third Test between England at India at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton. India are 1-0 up in the series following their victory at Lord’s. It was a memorable victory as India bounced out England and went on to win the game by 95 runs. MS Dhoni‘s men would be looking forward to put pressure on the hosts. But, there is a different backdrop to this. Dhoni is not happy with the fine on Ravindra Jadeja and the shadows of the pushgate controversy still looms large.
England finished in a commanding position on Day One of the third Test against India at Southampton thanks to a huge partnership between skipper Alastair Cook and No 3 batsman Gary Ballance. The Indian bowlers toiled endlessly, but were unable to make consistent breakthroughs as a mixture of dropped catches, close decisions and missed run-out chances meant that England lost just two wickets when they could have lost far more. Ballance scored his third Test hundred in six games, and also his second ton in a row after his 110-run knock at Lord’s. He combined with Cook — who fell just five runs short of his 26th Test ton — for a 158-run stand to put the hosts in a very comfortable position.
Earlier, Cook built on his good start by getting to his highest score in 28 innings, when he crossed 72. Along with Ballance, Cook added over 100 runs to put England firmly ahead at Tea. Ballance scored a resolute fifty as well to continue an impressive start to his Test career. The left-hander started sedately but grew in confidence and towards the end of the session started scoring freely, finding the fence almost at will.
On a day when Pankaj Singh made his debut and nearly made Cook his maiden wicket, Cook went past milestone after milestone to have his best day on the field in a very long time. Cook went past David Gower to climb up to the third spot in England’s all-time run-scorer after having gone past Kevin Pietersen on the list in the first session. Cook now occupies the third position behind Alec Stewart and Graham Gooch. Cook also scored his 2,000th run as captain during the course of his fifty. Hi, I am Devarchit Varma and will take you through the game.
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