Birmingham, Aug 3:
Chasing a coveted Test victory on English soil, a nervy India ended the action-packed third day of the first match at a precarious 110 for five, still 84 runs adrift from a tricky 194-run target, here today.
India allowed England to put on board 180 runs, despite having them on mat at 87 for seven at one stage with Ishant Sharma (5/51) and R Ashwin (3/39) troubling the home batsmen in the first two sessions.
It was young all-rounder Sam Curran who bolstered the England second innings with a fighting 63-run knock, which came off just 65 balls with nine fours and two sixes.
England pace battery, led by Stuart Broad, gobbled up half the Indian batting line up under favourable overcast conditions as the visiting batsmen were either reckless with their shot selection or got too good deliveries to counter.
Kohli, who turned it around for India in the first innings with a combative 149, now stands between victory and defeat for the visitors.
The defiant Indian captain, who saw his batting colleagues perishing one after another, was batting on 43 and giving him company was a disciplined Dinesh Karthik (18) when the stumps were drawn for the day.
They added 32 runs for the unbeaten sixth wicket, playing with maturity.
The Test still hangs in balance with the first session tomorrow holding key for both the sides.
England did not have to wait long for their first breakthroughs as Broad (2/29) trapped Vijay and had Shikhar Dhawan (13) caught behind.
KL Rahul (13) did not look too comfortable at the crease, and fell to Ben Stokes (1/25) just as his third-wicket partnership with Kohli was starting to take shape.
Kohli survived a hairy lbw shout against Sam Curran (1/17), but DRS showed the ball sailing over middle stump. But the left-arm young pacer was able to nab Ajinkya Rahane (2), caught behind shortly afterwards.
India tried a different approach to stop the downcurve, and R Ashwin (13) came out to bat at number five. He lasted less than four overs before Anderson came back to turn the game in England’s favour once again.
Karthik and Kohli though dug in deep, especially the former, and made sure that the seesawing game went into the fourth day.
Earlier, Ishant Sharma took his eighth five-wicket haul while R Ashwin (3-59) and Umesh Yadav (2-20) shared the other five wickets as the Sam Curran’s valiant fight back went in vain.
Post lunch, Sharma didn’t allow Jos Buttler (1) to get settled, nicking him off on the second ball after resumption of play.
20-year-old all-rounder Curran then took centre stage as he scored 63 runs off 65 balls, including nine fours and two sixes, and delayed India’s victory march.
In doing so, he put on 48 runs with Adil Rashid (16) for the eighth wicket. It was the only passage of play on this third day wherein English batsmen looked comfortable at the crease as Indian bowlers searched desperately for a breakthrough. (PTI)
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