[Watch] Kuldeep Yadav castles Zak Crawley with a ripper on Day 3 of IND vs ENG 4th Test
Team India left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav provided his side with a crucial breakthrough on Day 3 of the fourth Test against England in Ranchi, hitting Zak Crawley's middle stump shortly after the opener completed his half-century.
The dismissal came in the 29th over of the innings, with the ball spinning viciously as Crawley went on the backfoot and missed it completely. Kuldeep had notably asked captain Rohit Sharma to keep the cover open, hoping for Crawley to target the area and the England opener did just that.
The right-handed batter scored 60, his side's top score in the second innings so far. Here's the video of his dismissal:
Before Crawley, India had already got rid of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Joe Root, with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin accounting for the trio's wickets. At the time of writing, the visitors were 120/6 with Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley on the crease.
India finish first innings at 307, giving England 46-run lead
India began Day 3 at 219-7 and ran the risk of conceding a massive lead. However, a 76-run partnership between Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep, followed by another 40-run stand between the wicketkeeper-batter and Akash Deep, helped the hosts reach 307.
Jurel missed out on a well-deserving ton and had to walk back for 90. It meant that the tourists' lead was just 46 runs. Shoaib Bashir was the star for the Englishmen, claiming his maiden fifer. Tom Hartley finished with three scalps, while James Anderson chipped in with a couple of wickets.
England's competitive total of 353 in the first innings came on the back of Root's 31st overall and 10th Test hundred against India. Ollie Robinson, recalled in place of Mark Wood, chipped in with a valuable 58 and built a 102-run stand with Root.