England stages a comeback following Gill’s century, setting up a tantalizingly poised situation in the Vizag Test.
Shubman Gill’s third Test century lifted India in their second innings, setting a challenging target of 399 for England.
By Stumps on Day 2, the visitors had erased 67 runs from the target, leaving the game intriguingly poised.
Gill’s stellar performance camouflaged India’s batting shortcomings, reminiscent of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s resilience in the first innings.
Overcoming a shaky start, Gill displayed a fluent innings.
On the third morning, India aimed to extend their lead of 171.
However, England, led by the experienced James Anderson, had different plans.
Anderson set the tone early, dismissing Rohit Sharma with a delivery that nipped away.
Yashasvi Jaiswal fell soon after, nicking a delivery angled across.
Gill, surviving two close LBW reviews, collaborated with Shreyas Iyer for an 81-run stand.
However, Iyer couldn’t convert another promising start, getting caught by Ben Stokes after miscuing a hit against Tom Hartley.
Debutant Rajat Patidar’s dismissal further troubled India, losing four wickets before Lunch.
Gill and Axar exhibited sensible cricket, adding an 89-run partnership.
Gill reached a well-deserved century but fell attempting to accelerate with a reverse sweep off Shoaib Bashir.
Axar was then trapped LBW by Hartley, and post-break, R Ashwin and KS Bharat contributed with a partnership.
However, Bharat’s dismissal in the first over after the break, along with quick successions of wickets for Ashwin and Bumrah, left England with a target of 399.
The chase started briskly, with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley forming another 50-run partnership.
Just as India was struggling for ideas, Duckett was caught bat-pad off Ashwin.
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