[Watch] Jonny Bairstow's horrific tour continues with a four-ball duck on Day 3 of India vs England 3rd Test
England batter Jonny Bairstow's wretched run in the ongoing Test series against India continued as he was dismissed for a duck on Day 3 of the third Test in Rajkot on Saturday.
The hosts already had their tails up, having sent back Joe Root early in the day. Kuldeep Yadav backed it up with a tight over that led to another wicket as Bairstow tried to hang back and defend without getting to the pitch of the ball.
The ball gripped off the surface from a good length outside off-stump and turned sharply to trap Jonny Bairstow right in front. The right-hander did ask for a review, but it was to no avail as the replays showed three reds.
See the video of the dismissal below:
In five innings in the series so far, Bairstow has scored just 98 runs at a modest average of 19.6. England needed him to form a partnership with Ben Duckett after they lost Root early on Saturday.
India on top in a riveting first hour of play on Day 3
The hosts were dealt with a massive blow as veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin withdrew from the ongoing Test due to a family medical emergency. Already a bowler short and on the back foot, India needed an inspirational performance to fight back on Day 3 and that's exactly what they produced in the first hour.
Ben Duckett hit a lot of boundaries on Day 2, but skipper Rohit Sharma ensured he had deep fielders in place on the third morning to dry up the big shots. Pressure was created from both ends with Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav and the hosts got the breakthrough.
Root tried to play the reverse scoop off Bumrah, but could only find Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slip cordon. Jonny Bairstow's dismissal meant that visitors needed to dig deep and get a big partnership.
Just as Ben Stokes began to get going, England lost the wicket of Duckett as well. India will need to keep chipping away with wickets at regular intervals as it still looks like a good pitch for batting.