Indian openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed were dismissed at last, but England remained well-placed in the third Test at Headingley on Thursday. India captain Virat Kohli’s decision to bat first on Wednesday. England was 182-2 at lunch on the second day, a lead of 104 runs, having bowled the tourists out for just 78 following
England captain Joe Root (14 not out) and Yorkshire batsmen Dawid Malan (27 not out) were both unbeaten on their home ground. But one regret for England, looking to level this five-match series at 1-1 after a 151-run defeat in the second Test at Lord’s, was that neither Burns nor Hameed really pressed on after dominating India’s attack on Wednesday.
After veteran spearhead James Anderson, with a return of 3-6 in eight overs, England resumed on a commanding 120-0, and India’s top order spark a dramatic collapse. The fifth time England’s first wicket partnership had surpassed the all-out total of the team batting first, with Burns 52 not out overnight and Hameed 60 not out.
England’s 22nd opening partnership since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, posted only England’s second-century first-wicket stand in the past five years of Test cricket. Left-hander Burns had added just nine runs to his total when he was bowled playing down the wrong line to Mohammed Shami, with England now 135-1.
The struggling Dom Sibley got off the mark with a cover-driven boundary off Jasprit Bumrah and followed that shot up with two more fours off Mohammed Siraj. Malan as a new batsman recalled following a three-year absence from Test cricket after England dropped
Hameed, played as an opener in place of Burns after his five-year exile from Test cricket and managed just nine runs in total at Lord’s, had looked in excellent touch on Wednesday. He added eight runs to his overnight score and had spent 28 deliveries on 68 when he was bowled by Ravindra Jadeja, who produced a classic left-arm spinner’s delivery that turned away from the right-hander’s forward defensive shot to leave England 159-2.
The first wicket was taken by an India spinner in this series was a sign of the increasing effectiveness of India’s quicks. this was with off-break bowler Ravichandran Ashwin set to feature during the current campaign.
Root, having made 109 in the rain-marred drawn first Test at Trent Bridge and a brilliant 180 not out at Lord’s, looked in excellent touch again as he twice had Shami behind square on the offside for two fours in three balls. It was announced earlier Thursday that the former England captain had died aged 86 in memory of Ted Dexter England’s players and the umpires all wore black armbands.