Image Credit- BCCI
The hosts took a commanding lead on the third day
thanks to a brilliant century from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who supported the bowlers
of India with a great performance.
Shubman Gill proved to be an adequate ally for Jaiswal, as the two combined for
a 158-run stand until Jaiswal was forced to retire hurt from back spasms. When
Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 30 in the second innings while playing for
India, the two had already teamed up. A clinical duo dashed England’s dreams of
a comeback just as they were starting to take shape.
Gill, who matched his equally cautious companion,
started his innings off on a lively note but then reined himself in when
England bowled to their fields. After hitting 35 off of 73 balls, Jaiswal
abruptly decided to let loose, hitting seasoned player James Anderson for four
boundaries to begin a run of dominance.
He quickly sped to a hundred off of just 122 balls by continuously sweeping,
lofting, and reverse-sweeping the spinners. A huge cheer went up when he hit
his second tonne of the series and third overall in Tests. However, that
ultimately led to back problems, forcing him to retire wounded following a
stroke that left him at 104.
India’s lead grew above 300 as Gill quietly shown a
mature hand by scoring his second fifty-plus score of the series while Jaiswal
went all out. However, they struggled in the latter part of the day, forcing
Jaiswal to retire injured and dismissing Rajat Patidar for a long hop for the
second time in the Test.
It posed a threat to undo the solid work they had done earlier in the day, when
they had used some brilliant bowling to wrest a 126-run lead in the first
innings. On the third day, India’s four-man attack was active and created
opportunities as the track started to take some turn, even without R Ashwin.
Among them, Kuldeep Yadav stood up as a consistent threat, snaffling two
wickets for his efforts in the morning session.