England facing daunting chase as more dropped catches aid India's cause

Independent

3 days ago

England were facing another big chase to win their series deciding fifth Test against India, with a fine century from Yashasvi Jaiswal and some poor catching making life hard for the hosts.
Jaiswal made a classy 118 as the tourists reached 304 for six on the third afternoon, a lead of 281 at tea.
After 15 wickets fell on day two, a patched up England attack were unable to pose a consistent threat.
With Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse all missing the Test and Chris Woakes unable to play his part due to a dislocated shoulder, the task seemed too steep for a seam trio of Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton boasting just 18 previous caps.
Three more drops hurt their cause – Zak Crawley, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett taking the innings tally to six missed chances – but Jaiswal was the cornerstone of India's defiance.
He was gamely assisted by nightwatcher Akash Deep in the first session, with the latter crashing his way to a career-best 66 to set the tone for a difficult day in the field.
Deep, sent in on Friday evening to shield captain Shubman Gill, scored the majority share in a demoralising stand of 107 with the unflappable Jaiswal.
The tourists were just 52 ahead and two down overnight but England were insipid in the opening session.
Deep fully embraced what was a bonus innings for his side, slogging the third ball of the morning for four, heaving Atkinson across the line and angling Josh Tongue wide of the slips with soft hands.
He should have come unstuck for 21 in the eighth over, narrowly surviving Tongue's lbw shout on umpire's call and then edging the next delivery to third slip.
Just as it did on day two, England's catching was faulty with Crawley fumbling. That was as close as they came to parting the duo as they lost control in a dispiriting hour of play that saw India add 52 runs to the total.
England produced a few false shots after drinks but to no avail, with at least three edges skimming into the same gap wide of third slip. Deep advanced to an unlikely fifty with three fours off the tiring Atkinson – showing off unexpected range with a square cut, an uppercut and a pull.
Overton finally ended his fun with the lunch break moving into view, digging in a short ball that took the leading edge and popped to backward point. It was a handy delivery but, after 28 wicketless overs on a helpful pitch, the Surrey quick owed his side one.
Gill survived an awkward spell before the break but fell to the first ball after lunch, lbw to Atkinson for 11 to conclude a prolific series with 754 runs at an average of 75.40.
Karun Nair has fared considerably less well and his latest unconvincing stay ended with wafting Atkinson through to Jamie Smith for 17. At the other end Jaiswal was quietly getting on with job of a potentially match-defining hundred.
He was put down on 20 and 40 earlier in his innings but there was a sense of calm as he progressed towards the first ton of a bowler-dominated match. He was given a third life on 110, Duckett fluffing a tricky one at leg slip, but finally ran out of luck when he flashed Tongue to Overton at deep third.
England needed more quick successes to build on his departure but their overworked pace bowlers were creaking as Ravindra Jadeja (26no) and Dhruv Jurel (25no) extended the advantage.