England 259 for 3 (Root 76*, Bairstow 72*) and 284 trail India 245 all out (Pujara 66, Pant 57, Stokes 4-33) and 416 by 119 runs
England’s dream run in fourth-innings chases this summer continued as they got to 259 for 3 in pursuit of 378, a record chase for them if it comes off. Alex Lees and Zak Crawley put together their quickest hundred-run opening stand in Test cricket before Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow repaired a collapse of three wickets for two runs. However, to have that half chance at the target England needed the bowlers to do their job, which they did by taking India’s seven standing wickets for an addition of 120 runs to the overnight lead of 257 runs.
When England bowled in the first half of the way, they extracted uneven bounce from the pitch, and Jack Leach found enough assistance to have an analysis of 12-1-28-1, the wicket being the dangerous Rishabh Pant, who became the first India wicketkeeper to score a hundred and a fifty in an overseas Test. The ball didn’t do much for India at the start; when they got the ball changed in the 21st over, it brought them three wickets. Root and Bairstow had to be watchful against the reversing ball for a bit, but they still managed to add 150 unbeaten runs at 4.56 an over.
More to follow
Source: ESPN Crickinfo