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First Test On day three, England battle to reach 89/1 at lunch.


By Kajal Sharma - 28 Jan 2024 08:29 PM
England showed semblance of fight to score briskly on a fast-wearing uneven pitch to reach 89 for one at lunch against India on the third day of the first Test in Hyderabad on Saturday. Ben Duckett (38 batting) and Ollie Pope (16 batting) are at crease as the visitors were left to wipe out a massive deficit of 190 runs in their second innings. England still trail by 101 runs.India lost their opening essay after being bowled out for 436. Axar Patel (44), and Ravindra Jadeja (87) were unable to reach their individual century marks as the hosts could only add 15 runs to their 421 for seven overnight.Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley (31) of England, who were faced with a daunting assignment, did not panic and carried out their duties with tenacity. They continued the plan of using sweep and reverse sweeps to counter Indian spinners. To brighten the England camp, Crawley even hit Axar for a six over the sightscreen. The left-arm spinner let up more than seven runs per over throughout this time, while Ashwin scored more than five.
However, India did not have to wait long for the initial success. Ashwin bowled around the wicket, creating a gap across Crawley, whose defensive prod resulted in an easy catch for Rohit Sharma at first slip.Previously, when play resumed in the morning, India's first innings did not last very long, finishing in 54 minutes. Jadeja lost leg before Joe Root and failed to get the much anticipated fourth Test hundred.When Jadeja moved to the front foot to stop an off-stump length delivery, the ball turned quite a little before hitting his pads. Umpire Chris Gaffaney chose to examine the call, and he raised his finger. Although there appeared to be a bat deflection, the replays were unable to provide a clear picture, therefore the third umpire decided to follow the on-field umpire's judgment.Indian innings came to an abrupt end as they lost the final three wickets without scoring any more runs. Root castled Jasprit Bumrah in the very next ball, while Rehan Ahmed thoroughly cleaned out Axar.