What happened on Day 3 of the 2nd IND vs ENG 2024 Test?
Shubman Gill scored a fine hundred in the second innings of the Visakhapatnam Test on Sunday, February 4, as India set England a challenging target of 399. Under pressure after a string of low scores, the right-handed batter hit a defiant 104 off 147 balls as India scored 255 in the second innings on Day 3 of the Test match.
In the chase, England got off to another confident start as their openers added 50 in under 11 overs. However, Ben Duckett (28 off 27) yet again perished after getting a start.
The England opener was smartly caught by keeper KS Bharat, who dived forward after the ball lobbed off the pads after hitting the bat as Duckett attempted a defensive stroke against Ravichandran Ashwin. The visitors went to stumps at 67/1, needing a further 332 runs for victory.
Earlier, India resumed their second innings at 28/0, but the genius of James Anderson accounted for both the opening batters. Rohit Sharma (13) was comprehensively beaten by one that nipped away and knocked out his off stump. Yashasvi Jaiswal (17) then played a loose drive outside off and was caught at slip.
Gill and Shreyas Iyer lifted the hosts, adding 81 runs for the third wicket. The former survived a few close calls, but did not give his wicket away and eased to his fifty with consecutive fours off Rehan Ahmed.
The same cannot be said about Shreyas. Having gotten to 29 in a hard-fought manner, he tried to go after Tom Hartley and fell to an incredible running catch from Ben Stokes.
Rajat Patidar (9) did not last long. He nicked one that kept low from Ahmed and was brilliantly caught by Ben Foakes. India went to lunch on Day 3 at 130/4, having extended their lead to 273.
Gill and Axar ensure significant lead for India
Gill and Axar Patel (45 off 84) put India on top in the second session, featuring in an impressive fifth-wicket stand of 89. Gill took on leggie Rehan in the 41st over, slamming him for a six and two fours off consecutive deliveries to race into the 80s.
The right-handed batter got to his hundred by tucking a length ball from Shoaib Bashir off his pads for a single. The celebrations were muted as Gill almost reacted with a sense of relief.
Some smart field placement from Stokes brought about Gill’s downfall as he gloved an attempted reverse sweep off Bashir’s bowling. Axar’s resistance ended soon after as he was trapped leg before by Hartley with one that kept low. England took a sensible review to get the decision in their favor.
Bharat (6) registered another failure with the bat. He hit a long hop from Ahmed straight to mid-on. Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah perished without troubling the scorers, but Ashwin contributed a handy 29 before being caught behind off Ahmed, with Foakes taking another good low catch.