England captain Ben Stokes delivered a crucial late strike to keep his side in contention after Harry Brook’s sensational 99 lit up a tumultuous third day of the first Test against India at Headingley.
With the Test hanging in the balance, India closed the day on 90-2 in their second innings, holding a slender 96-run lead after England were earlier dismissed for 465 in response to the visitors’ 471.
The final session teetered between momentum shifts, but Stokes’s removal of debutant Sai Sudharsan just before bad light intervened left the contest tantalisingly poised heading into day four.
The drama of the day began much earlier, however, with Brook—the Yorkshireman playing on home soil—producing a jaw-dropping innings that thrilled the Headingley crowd and reasserted England’s fighting spirit.
Resuming on 64 overnight after being caught off a no-ball late on day two, Brook had a scratchy start but then burst into life, attacking India’s bowlers with disdain.
After stretching his scoreless streak to 15 balls, Brook lashed a boundary and a towering six off Prasidh Krishna to ignite the crowd and put the pressure squarely back on the Indian attack.
With Ollie Pope dismissed early in the day for 106 and Stokes falling cheaply for 20, Brook took charge of the innings, partnering aggressively with Jamie Smith.
The pair added 73 runs in rollicking fashion, with Smith strong on the pull and Brook unfurling his full range of attacking shots. The Indian fielding, which had already let Brook off the hook once on Saturday, crumbled under the pressure.
Brook was dropped again—once on 46 by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant off Ravindra Jadeja, and then on 82 by Yashasvi Jaiswal at slip off the luckless Jasprit Bumrah.
Smith’s innings, worth a promising 40, ended in frustration as he fell to a relay catch between Jadeja and Sudharsan off Krishna. Brook continued the onslaught, launching Siraj for a brutal six over long-on and daring India’s pacers to stop him.
But with the magical milestone of a century within touching distance, the right-hander succumbed to the bouncer trap—top-edging Krishna into the hands of Shardul Thakur at long leg.
It was a gut-wrenching dismissal, and Brook could only throw his head back in anguish, joining the unfortunate club of England players dismissed on 99 in Test history—becoming the 16th to suffer the fate.
Despite the heartbreak, England found renewed momentum through the bat of Chris Woakes. Displaying a mix of precision and panache, Woakes belted Krishna for back-to-back sixes and added a quick-fire 55 with Brydon Carse.
The duo’s partnership was riotous entertainment and symbolic of England’s Bazball era, which encourages aggressive counter-attacks and rapid run accumulation.
Woakes’s spirited 38 ended when he was bowled by Bumrah, who soon cleaned up the tail with a five-wicket haul (5-83), dismissing Shoaib Bashir to close the innings. England had clawed their way back to within six runs of parity and, perhaps more importantly, seized the psychological edge.
India’s second innings got off to a rocky start. Carse, buoyed by his cameo with the bat, had Jaiswal caught behind for 7 to send Headingley into raptures.
But the visitors regrouped through a determined stand between KL Rahul and Sudharsan. The pair added 66 runs under increasingly gloomy skies, batting with caution and resilience as England’s bowlers hunted further breakthroughs.
Sudharsan, who impressed with calm shot selection on debut, was undone by a moment of brilliance from Stokes, who coaxed a mistimed flick to mid-wicket, dismissing the left-hander for 30. With drizzle in the air and fading light prompting frequent glances from the umpires, the final overs were played under significant tension.
Rahul remained unbeaten on 47, anchoring the innings with characteristic calm, while captain Shubman Gill was on six when play was called off. The duo’s partnership will be pivotal on day four, with the pitch showing signs of wear and variable bounce likely to make run-chases treacherous.
The Headingley crowd, who had witnessed a day of high-octane, see-saw cricket, were left buzzing with anticipation. Both sides have enjoyed dominant phases and made costly errors. England’s decision to bowl first, a move that initially seemed costly, was mitigated by India’s own generosity with the bat and in the field.
India’s dropped catches—four in total, three of them off Bumrah—proved especially expensive. Brook’s no-ball reprieve and subsequent missed chances may haunt India if the match tilts England’s way.
For England, the day typified the exhilarating but risky nature of Bazball. While Brook’s brilliance and Woakes’s aggression salvaged a potentially dire situation, poor shot selection undid the likes of Smith and Pope, who was dismissed to a loose cut early in the morning.
The home side will reflect on missed opportunities but also take heart from their ability to fight back with both bat and ball.
As the Test heads into its final two days, all results remain on the table. India hold a narrow edge with the lead approaching three figures, but England have momentum, home support, and a pitch starting to take spin and misbehave.
With the weather forecast remaining unpredictable and the contest delicately balanced, the stage is set for a gripping finale to what has already been a classic Test match between two well-matched sides.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
