Birmingham: Rain brought an early end to the second session on day two of the rescheduled fifth Test between England and India at Edgbaston on Saturday. At tea, England are 60/3 in 15.1 overs, trailing India by 356 runs with skipper Jasprit Bumrah running through the top-order to pick 3-30 in seven overs.
The session, majorly dominated by rain, had Ollie Pope swivel-pulling a Mohammed Shami bouncer through deep square leg for a boundary. But in the next over, Bumrah bowled outside the off-stump and found the outer edge of Zak Crawley on an expansive drive pouched safely by third slip.
Joe Root had some nervous moments; beaten twice by Bumrah before almost chopping onto his stumps off Shami. Bumrah beat the outer edge of Pope and bowled two more balls before rain stopped play for the second time in the day.
After an interruption of an hour and 45 minutes, with a loss of 26 overs, Root drove Bumrah through mid-off before Pope cut Shami through backward point. With conditions helpful, Bumrah and Shami kept things tight, with the India skipper looking more lethal.
Bumrah troubled Pope more in the 11th over, getting one to jag back in and beat the inner edge to sow seeds of doubt. After neat defence and a no-ball, Bumrah bowled one fuller and outside the off-stump, enticing Pope to drive away from the body. Pope fell into the trap and the second slip on rebound caught the catch coming off the thick edge of the bat.
Jonny Bairstow got a streaky boundary off a leading edge from Bumrah but was solid in pulling Mohammed Siraj through deep square leg. Root, who had been cautious till then, attempted a wild swing through the covers off Shami but was beaten before rain stopped play again and brought an early end to the session.
Earlier, rain forced early lunch after India grabbed control of the match, making 416 in 84.5 overs in the first innings before Bumrah castled Alex Lees to leave England at 16/1 in three overs.
Ravindra Jadeja reached his third Test century, making a splendid 104. Bumrah then hit a crucial 16-ball 31, including taking 29 runs off pacer Stuart Broad in an over of 35 runs, claiming the record for the most expensive over in Test cricket.
For England, who leaked 78 runs in 11.5 overs to wrap India’s innings, James Anderson picked his sixth five-wicket haul (5-60) against India in Test cricket.
Brief scores: India 416 in 84.5 overs (Rishabh Pant 146, Ravindra Jadeja 104; James Anderson 5-60, Matthew Potts 2-105) lead England 60/3 in 15.1 overs (Joe Root 19 not out, Jasprit Bumrah 3-30) by 356 runs
–IANS