
Day 3 of the fifth and final Test match between India and England turned out to be a riveting affair at The Oval in London. While the Three Lions kept on fighting, it was India who dominated proceedings and put themselves in the driver’s seat.
India started Day 3 at 75/2, having taken their lead to 52 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Akash Deep were the overnight batters. England threw up a surprise at the start of the day as they bowled Jacob Bethell first up. Deep took just three deliveries before hitting the all-rounder for a boundary.
The Bengal seamer mixed caution with aggression, while Yashasvi was happy to give him as much strike as possible. The duo frustrated the England bowlers, who toiled hard for most parts of the first session. Deep got himself his first half-century in international cricket. He was eventually dismissed at the stroke of Lunch for a 94-ball 66, hitting 12 boundaries. Deep and Yashasvi forged a 107-run stand off 150 balls.
Yashasvi went on to score a fantastic century, even as Shubman Gill and Karun Nair departed cheaply. The Mumbai batter was eventually dismissed by Josh Tongue after smashing 118 off 164 balls, belting 14 fours and two sixes.
Ravindra Jadeja and Dhruv Jurel added 50 runs off just 72 deliveries. The former once again played a crucial knock with the bat, scoring 53 off 77 balls. Jurel also contributed nicely with a 46-ball 34.
However, Washington Sundar stole the show down the order with a 46-ball 53. He added 39 runs off the last wicket with Prasidh Krishna to take India to 396. England were set a target of 374 in the fourth innings.
Openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley added a half-century stand for the second time in the Test match. While Crawley was watchful, Duckett took the attack to the Indian bowlers. However, in the last over of the day, Mohammed Siraj sent Crawley packing as England finished on 50.1 in 13.5 overs.
England need another 324 runs to win the fifth and final Test match. Meanwhile, India will be searching for nine wickets to level the series.
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