India vs England: Contest hangs in balance as rain curtails Day 3

Rain forced Day 3 of the opening Test at Headingley to conclude promptly, despite the English captain Ben Stokes desperately trying to squeeze in more overs. The downpour picked up pace at the venue as the umpires sent the players back. Meanwhile, with the local time past 6:00, stumps were called on the third day of the opening India vs England Test. With Shubman Gill and KL Rahul departing unbeaten, the visitors closed off the proceedings on a 90-run total at the loss of two wickets, boasting a lead of 96 runs over the hosts.

Jasprit Bumrah completes a five-wicket haul to headline Day 3 of the India vs England Test at Headingley

It would not do justice to the absolute gem of India if the start of this summary doesn't mention Jasprit Bumrah. Bowling at Headingley, it's not just the dead conditions that the Indian pace spearhead is dealing with. Luck also seems to be running out of his favor, with the Indian fielders dropping sitters around the field. Yet, despite the hurdles, Jasprit Bumrah completed a five-wicket haul on Day 3 of the India vs England Test.

Day 2 had concluded with Bumrah signing the session off as the highest wicket-taking Asian in SENA countries. His three scalps brought his wicket tally to 148 in SENA conditions. On Day 3, Bumrah scalped two more to complete his fifer. With his latest exploit, Bumrah registered the most number of five-wicket hauls, 12, for an Indian in away conditions, equalling the legendary Kapil Dev.

Meanwhile, the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj also showed up after a disappointing turnout on Day 2. Prasidh Krishna drew the first blood on the new day, sending the centurion Ollie Pope back with a caught-behind dismissal. Mohammed Siraj, meanwhile, took aim at the English captain, dismissing Ben Stokes for 20 off 52. The skipper's departure was framed by the rare sight of Indian fielders showing up for their bowler, as Ravindra Jadeja and Sai Sudharsan completed a stunner at the boundary line.

However, Bumrah, who witnessed three of his chances being dropped on Day 2, didn't prove as lucky as Siraj. Agony followed the pace spearhead on the new day as well, as Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped a sitter at gully, letting Brook survive once more, this time at 82. However, it was not to be for the English batter, who unfortunately fell at 99. Coming so close to his century, Brook was lured into going for a big hit by Krishna, only for the cherry to end up in the hands of Shardul Thakur at long leg. 

While not as swiftly as the Indian tail, England's charge unwound from there as Siraj bowled Brydon Carse out before Bumrah claimed Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue to complete his historic fifer. Tea was called with India managing to keep a 7-run lead before their turn to bat again arrived in the final session.

Day 3 concludes with the visitors claiming a 96-run in the India vs England Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit a century to kick off the proceedings of the first India vs England Test in the opening innings, looked rattled by the mishaps he staged in the field off Bumrah. Out of the four drops against Bumrah, Jaiswal emerged as the culprit for three of them. Anyways, coming out to bat, the youngster could not emulate his knock from the first innings as Brydon Carse dismissed the opener for 4 off 11 in a caught-behind dismissal.

Sai Sudharsan, who marked the start of his Test career with a duck in the previous innings, managed to extend his stay this time around. With KL Rahul showing his quintessential restraint, the duo forged a stable partnership. Restraint here does not mean Rahul played under any threat by the English bowlers. The opener took on Carse, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir to show off his technical skills. The cover drive off Tongue was possibly among the best hit by a batter. Sudharsan found his shots as well, shedding his shackles against Carse and Woakes. The youngster was, furthermore, aided by Duckett dropping him at 24.

Ben Stokes endured two boundaries by the Indian debutant before making Sudharsan fall into a well-set trap. Batting at 30, Sudharsan flicked one off the captain but could not keep the cherry down, which landed straight into the hands of Zak Crawley standing at mid-wicket. Stokes pointed at Crawley, rejoicing in the fact that his plan played out exactly how he had desired. The Indian captain, Shubman Gill, walked in, hitting Stokes for a four on his very first delivery with a picturesque cut shot. Rahul and Gill drove calmly from there before rain at Headingley curbed the proceedings sooner than Stokes liked.