IMAGES from Day 2 of the third Test match, played between England and India at Lord's, London, on Friday.
Jasprit Bumrah's five-wicket haul and Joe Root's sublime century set up an absorbing contest before KL Rahul's composed unbeaten 53 guided India to 145 for three at stumps on day two of the third Test against England at Lord's on Friday.
Bumrah (5/74) dismantled England's middle and lower order to claim his second successive five-wicket haul and 15th overall, as the hosts were bowled out for 387 after resuming the day on 251/4.
At stumps, India trailed by 242 runs with Rahul and Rishabh Pant (19 batting) at the crease.
Nair once again got a start (40) but could not convert it into something meaningful with Joe Root taking a spectacular left-handed catch inches off the ground at first slip.
Gill's fall was a result of a well thought out plan. Considering the Indian captain had been outside his crease in the previous two games, England had the wicket-keeper backing up to him against the medium pace of Chris Woakes.
Pushed back into the crease, Gill got a faint edge off a ball that straightened a shade, marking a rare failure on the tour. However, he managed to cross the 600-run mark in the series.
Batting alongside Rahul, Rishabh Pant played some attacking strokes to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Pant had not come out to field after being hit on his finger on day one. As often has been the case in the series, Rahul hardly put a foot wrong and from time to time, regaled the crowd with his impeccable cover drives.
Jasprit Bumrah's menacing morning spell resulted in a five-wicket haul as India bowled out England for 387 despite Joe Root's 37th hundred on the second day of the third Test in London on Friday.
After Bumrah (5 for 74) eclipsed Kapil Dev's record of 12 five-wicket hauls on foreign soil, India were steady in their reply, reaching 44 for 1 at tea break.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) was Jofra Archer's first victim on comeback to Test cricket but seasoned KL Rahul (13 batting) and Karun Nair (18 batting) went into the break unscathed.
Nair, however, did look in some sort of discomfort against both Archer and his nemesis Brydon Carse, who got it to rear up awkwardly from back of length.
Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah claimed his second successive five-wicket haul (5/74) but Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse struck gritty fifties to help England stage another lower-order fightback and post a challenging 387 in their first innings on day two of the third Test on Friday.
Making a comeback after sitting out of the second Test in Edgbaston for workload management, Bumrah ripped through England's middle order in the morning with a seven-ball burst that removed Root (104), Ben Stokes (44) and Chris Woakes (0), reducing the hosts from 251/4 to 271/7.
But England wicketkeeper-batter Smith, batting at No 7, kept India at bay with a brisk 51, putting on a valuable 84-run stand for the eighth wicket with Carse, who notched a maiden Test fifty en route to 56.
Their partnership helped England recover from Bumrah's burst and reach a strong position at lunch.
Smith eventually edged Mohammed Siraj behind soon after the break, while Bumrah cleaned up Jofra Archer to complete his second fifer in as many Tests. It was his 15th overall, and first at Lord's.
Siraj (2/85) then cleaned up Carse to bundle out the England first innings.
Jaime Smith once again scripted England's lower order fightback after Jasprit Bumrah's triple strike as England reached 353 for 7 at lunch on Day 2 of the third Test against India in London on Friday.
Joe Root completed his 37th hundred before Jasprit Bumrah struck thrice in a menacing spell to leave England reeling.
Bumrah removed Joe Root (104), Ben Stokes (44) and Chris Woakes (0) in a devastating seven-ball burst across two overs to reduce England from 251/4 to 271/7.
The English keeper-batter Smith, who scored 184 not out and 88 in the previous Test, counter-attacked with a fluent fifty and was unbeaten on 51 from 53 balls at the break, with Brydon Carse (33 batting) offering solid support.
In the second hour of play, Smith and Carse frustrated India, sharing an unbroken 82-run stand off just 106 balls for the eighth wicket. The Dukes ball became a big talking point again with an unhappy Indian team getting red cherry changed twice in the session.
Earlier, Root notched his 37th Test century to move past Steve Smith's tally and stand fifth on the all-time list, headed by Sachin Tendulkar (51).
Resuming the day at 251 for four, England lost Stokes, Root and Woakes in the first hour, courtesy the genius of Bumrah.
Smith was given a lifeline when K L Rahul dropped the in-form wicket-keeper batter off Mohammed Siraj.
Stokes was the first batter to be dismissed on the day. One ball after he square cut Bumrah, Stokes got a beauty that seamed back in from round the wicket to hit the top of off-stump. There was nothing Stokes could do apart from shaking his head.
Root got out soon after reaching a record eighth Test hundred at Lord's off the first delivery of the day. Bumrah drew Root forward but the ball came back in a share to take the inside edge before uprooting the middle-stump. It was the 11th time that Bumrah had got the better of England's best batter in Tests.
The very next ball Woakes was caught behind, a faint tickle chasing a ball wide on the off-stump.
It was surprising that Shubman Gill wanted a ball change despite that second new Dukes ball being only around 10 overs old.
The umpires accepted his request but the Indians were not happy with the replacement ball leading to an animated conversation between Gill and the umpires as England reached 307 for seven in the opening hour.
Soon after, the ball was changed for the second time in the session, adding to the debate over the balls used in England.
To their credit, Smith and Carse batted confidently against the Indian pacers with their ability to drive the ball through the covers standing out.
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