Cricket: Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep produce record-breaking effort against England on Day 3 at Edgbaston
No Bumrah? No problem! Siraj and Deep shine on Day 3
India took another massive step toward levelling their five-match series against England on Friday afternoon, when their pacemen, Mohammad Siraj and Akash Deep, produced a monumental effort to bowl out the Three Lions for 407 with 13 overs still to play on Day 3.
Given the absence of the world’s top fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, who sat out this match due to workload management, most cricket predictions suggested that India would struggle against England’s ‘Bazball’ approach, but the Men in Blue’s opening pair with the new ball proved doubters wrong.
Deep was brought into the team to replace Bumrah for this Test, and he made early inroads for his side, knocking over Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in consecutive deliveries before Siraj claimed the scalp of Zak Crawley before stumps on Day 2.
On Friday morning, Siraj proved to be the difference maker early on, picking up the prized wicket of Joe Root for just 22 runs before sending English skipper Ben Stokes back to the pavilion for a golden duck with his very next ball.
Harry Brook and Jamie Smith mounted a comeback for the home side, with both players surpassing the 150-run mark, but once Brook departed at 387/6, the Three Lions' tail-end crumbled, adding just 20 runs before the final four wickets tumbled.
Siraj and Deep were responsible for taking all 10 English wickets, with the former ending with stunning figures of 6/70 in 19.3 overs at an economy rate of just 3.59, while Deep finished with 4/88 in 20 overs at 4.40.
Notably, India’s pacemen dismissed six English batsmen for a duck in the first innings of the second Test, and in doing so, India became the first team ever to dismiss half a dozen Three Lions batters for nought in one innings of a Test match.
Jamie Smith stars for England in first innings
England found themselves in major trouble on the morning of Day 3 at Edgbaston following the dismissals of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in consecutive deliveries, which left the team at 84/5 and staring at the possibility of a follow-on.
However, Jamie Smith, along with Harry Brook, combined to pull the team to a respectable total of 407. Brook played a calm and calculated innings to finish on 158 off 234 balls, while Smith smashed his way to 184 off 207 deliveries and remained not out at the end of the innings.
Smith’s knock of 184* off 207 balls now stands as the highest individual score by an English Test wicketkeeper, surpassing the 173 amassed by former Three Lions gloveman Alec Stewart against New Zealand back in 1997.
Additionally, the 24-year-old’s century, which he brought up in just 80 deliveries, is the third-fastest ever by an English keeper, just four balls short of the legendary Gilbert Joseph’s 76-ball ton against Australia at The Oval in 1902, and three off Jonny Bairstow’s knock in 2022.
