IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill give India significant lead on Day 3

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored yet another magnificent century to give India the upper hand on the third day of the third Test against England in Rajkot on Saturday. Jaiswal’s 104 took India to 196/2, with a lead of 322. Earlier on Day three, England resumed their innings from their overnight score of 207/2 with Ben Duckett looking to convert his century into something even more bigger. While Duckett did surpass the 150-run mark, he wasn’t able to produce more of what he had done on Friday. In the 51st over, Duckett, facing a short ball from Kuldeep, looked to cut it towards the off-side but found Shubman Gill with the catch at cover. The two Bens, skipper Stokes and Foakes looked to stabilise England’s innings, but India struck right after lunch with the wicket of the former. It was a tossed-up delivery from Jadeja, and Stokes went for the slog sweep but did not really time it well, eventually holing it out towards Bumrah, who was running to the wide long on region. Stokes and Foakes’ 39-run stand came to an end, and ever since the dismissal of the England captain, the pendulum swung back in India’s favour. Mohammed Siraj did most of the damage for India with four wickets to his name, including a couple of stunning yorkers to get rid of Rehan Ahmed and James Anderson. India wrapped up England’s innings for 319, which meant India went into the second innings with a lead of 126 runs. India’s second innings got off to a rather uneventful start as they lost skipper Rohit Sharma for 19. Rohit was struck LBW by Joe Root. Rohit attempted for the sweep but missed it completely as he was struck on the pads. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill then forged a 155-run stand for the second wicket, with the former registering his third Test century, and second in two matches.

A leap of joy to celebrate his second century of the series 🙌

Well played, Yashasvi Jaiswal 👏👏#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @ybj_19 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/pdlPhn5e3N

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 17, 2024

Jaiswal got to his century in 122 deliveries, but just before the start of the 43rd over, Jaiswal seemed in some pain, seemingly having hurt his back. He was checked by the physio and while it remained a doubt if he could continue, Jaiswal was back up on his feet and resumed his innings. However, the back pain was too much to take for Jaiswal later, who retired hurt at the end of the 44th over. Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was spot-on and the manner in which he tweaked Jasprit Bumrah’s field position at long-on to get Ben Stokes dismissed off Ravindra Jadeja (2/51) spoke volumes about his acumen. On Sunday, India would be looking to take a lead of at least 425 if not 450 and have at least 125 overs to bowl out England. With no Ashwin available, India would need a cushion of more overs on a deck that is still good for batting. Jaiswal Jazz Jaiswal’s onslaught continued despite England frenetically changing their bowling and fielding plans but none worked enough to stop the Indian opener. Having spotted a vacant off-side field, Jaiswal brought out two reverse sweeps off Rehan Ahmed for fours. However, his charge was halted only after England brought back Mark Wood for a short-ball ploy yet again in the game with a packed leg side field. Unfazed with England’s deployments, Jaiswal dealt in singles once into his 90s and brought up his third century of fledgling career with a four off Wood.

6⃣ x 2 🔥

Yashasvi Jaiswal is dealing in maximums at the moment in Rajkot 🙌#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/JtEbJETcAz

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 17, 2024

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However, the left-handed opener had to retired hurt close to the end of the play for being unable to deal with back spasms. Jaiswal not only took the wind out of England’s aspirations but also consolidated India’s grip on the contest, having lost Rohit Sharma (19) cheaply in the second session. At the other end, Gill put behind the disappointment of the first-innings duck with a fifth half-century, countering England’s ploy of a packed on-side field with up to six fielders placed and Wood bowling into his body. India’s task was to preserve wickets and build their lead, given the amount of time left in the game and surface here being benign so far. Additionally, Rohit’s early dismissal with their overall lead not being big enough would have provided some concerns but all that was banished by the pair of Jaiswal and Gill with their unbeaten 155-run stand for the second wicket. Kuldeep’s ripper Kuldeep, who was hit for plenty by Ben Duckett on second day, found his mojo, bowling splendidly through the first session of the day which kept a leash on England, while also accounting for Jonny Bairstow with an unplayable delivery. Bairstow moved deep into the crease but was pinned in front of the wickets with one that turned sharply into him from outside the off. Bumrah then accounted for Root (18) for the ninth time in 21 innings, as former skipper’s shocking dismissal  a reverse ramp to second slip  once again exposed the bizarreness of the ultra aggressive approach. Having struggled to score freely in the first session, England resorted to go all-out post lunch but the ploy backfired horrendously. Jadeja had Stokes (41) caught by Bumrah who was placed a bit straighter at long-on, forcing the batter to adjust his stroke. Jadeja also had Tom Hartley stumped for his second wicket. For Ben Foakes, a delivery from Siraj slowed a little bit off the surface for an easy grab for Rohit at mid-on. The India pacer wasted no time in cleaning up tail-enders Ahmed and Anderson to bring up a four-for, with England rolling over for 319 from 290/5 at lunch. With PTI inputs