England 120 without loss to be 42 runs ahead
Leeds:- England took stranglehold of the third Test on the first day itself after bowling out India for 78 and then moving to 120 without loss to be 42 runs ahead here at the Headingley on Wednesday.
The Indian batting crumbled against exceptional swing bowling from England pace attack led by James Anderson, who removed the top order, picking three wickets. Craig Overton also took three wickets.Only Rohit Sharma (19) and Ajinkya Rahane (18) were the top scorers for India.
India were all out for 78 in their first innings on the first day of the third Test here at the Headingley on Wednesday. This is Indias third lowest total in England.
Rohit Sharma (19) and Ajinkya Rahane (18) were the top-scorers for India.
James Anderson started the riot picking the first three wickets. He had K.L. Rahul (0), Cheteshwar Pujara (1) and Virat Kohli (7) caught behind.
Then, just before lunch, Ollie Robinson removed Rahane, who had shared 35 runs for the fourth wicket with Rohit Sharma to reduce India to 56/4.
Post-lunch, the fall of wickets continued as Robinson had Rishabh Pant caught behind. The well-set Rohit, who faced 105 balls for his 19, was out to a mistimed pull off pacer Craig Overton, who had replaced the injured Mark Wood for the third Test.
Overton got Mohammed Shami, caught in slips off the very next ball, and then Sam Curran picked two in two.Overton picked three for 14, Anderson got three for 6, Robinson two for 16 and Curran two for 27.
Openers Haseeb Hameed (batting 60) and Rory Burns (batting 52) then drove England to stumps on the third day.
Brief scores
India 78 all out in 40.4 overs (C Overton 3/14, J Anderson 3/6, O Robinson 2/16, S Curran 2/27) vs England 120/0 in 42 overs (H Hameed batting 60, R Burns batting 52).
India’s 78 is their third lowest total in England
India’s 78 against England on Day One of the third Test here at Headingley on Wednesday is their eighth lowest score in Test cricket and third lowest in England.
India’s lowest in England was 42 at Lord’s in London in 1974. The Ajit Wadekar-led side had made 302 in first innings against England’s 600-plus score and then following on, folded for just 42 with Eknath Solkar top-scoring with unbeaten 18 and no other batsman getting into double figures.
India lost that second Test by innings and 285 runs.
The 58 in 1952 in Manchester is India’s second lowest in England. The Vijay Hazare-led side lost that Test — the third of the series — by an innings and 207 runs. After folding for 58 in first innings, they were bowled out for 82 in the second innings.
In December last year, India were bowled out for 36 in the first of the four Tests against Australia in Adelaide. It remains India’s lowest-ever score in Test history. The Indian innings lasted for just 21.2 overs at the Adelaide Oval.
On Wednesday, they batted for 40.4 overs. Only two batsmen, Rohit Sharma (19) and Ajinkya Rahane (18), managed to get into double figures.
India though can draw inspiration from England’s performance in an Ashes Test at Leeds, Headingley in 2019 when they were bowled out for 67 in first innings but managed to turn the Test around and chased a 359-run target.
India’s five lowest totals in England:
42 at Lord’s (London), 1974
58 at Old Trafford (Manchester), 1952
78 at Headingley (Leeds), 2021
82 at Old Trafford (Manchester), 1952
92 at Edgbaston (Birmingham), 1967