Team India seem to have the upper hand in the Ranchi Test as R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav ran through the English batting line up on Day 3 of the match.
Following a valiant comeback by India with the bat in the morning session, England lost half of their side while extending their lead to 166 runs as the two spinners grabbed control after lunch.
India used spin from both ends to start the second innings. Ben Duckett initially got a boundary each off Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with a masterful use of the sweep, but in the end, it was the off spinner who emerged victorious. Duckett attempted to defend himself by lunging forward when the ball was flung up, but it ended up lobbed into the fielder’s hands at short leg.
The very next delivery, Ollie Pope was caught leg-before-wicket after failing to read Ashwin, dealing a severe blow to England. Replays showed that the ball would have clipped the stumps, hence the review was pointless.
Joe Root and Crawley then had to turn things around for the team that had evidently lost the momentum from the outset on the third day. When Crawley faced Ashwin, he hit him for three fours in one over and then added another in the following over. Mohammed Siraj provided the much-needed speed, but it was Ashwin who continued to erode the visitors’ lead.
Dhruv Jurel earlier led India’s comeback as he scored a brave 90 in 149 balls and 211 minutes. In their first innings, it helped Team India reach 307 from their overnight score of 219 for seven. After being dropped by Ollie Robinson for 59, Jurel hit Bashir for consecutive fours and sixes and quickly reached 90 from 149 balls. However, left-arm spinner Hartley cleaned him up with a faster delivery to deny him a well-earned century.
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