Jamie Smith needed only 80 balls to reach three figures at Edgbaston, turning what looked like a grim morning into a far more manageable one for England. At lunch on day three the hosts are 249 for 5, still 338 behind India’s imposing 587, yet suddenly talking about possibilities rather than damage-limitation.
The drama unfolded in two distinct acts.
Act one: Mohammed Siraj’s burst
England began on 116 for 3 and hoping Joe Root and Harry Brook could resume their familiar rescue act. Siraj, operating from the Pavilion End, shattered that plan inside four balls. Root, on nought, leaned across and brushed a leg-side delivery to Rishabh Pant. Next ball, a brutish lifter thudded into Ben Stokes’s gloves and looped to slip. The England captain trudged off for a golden duck, only the second time three of England’s top six have registered noughts in the same innings.
“At that moment you’re thinking follow-on,” former India coach Ravi Shastri said on TV commentary. Few argued.
Act two: Smith and Brook counter
Enter Smith, facing a hat-trick ball with England 84 for 5 and still 503 behind. He drove it straight past mid-on for four and barely paused for breath thereafter. Brook, content to nudge singles at first, soon joined the fun. By the interval the pair had added 165 from just 154 deliveries, Smith unbeaten on 102, Brook on 91.
“I just wanted to keep my options open and back the swing of the bat,” Smith told Sky Sports during the break. Siraj, he admitted, “wasn’t exactly the bloke you want to see when you’re new at the crease, but sometimes you’ve no choice but to counter-punch.”
Key passages
• 23 off an over: Prasidh Krishna’s second spell, short-ball heavy on Gill’s instruction, disappeared for four fours and a six. Smith’s bat speed never wavered.
• Fifty from 43 balls: Smith’s sixth fifty-plus score in eight Tests arrived moments later.
• Near-record chase: He reached 84 from 62, briefly threatening Gilbert Jessop’s 118-year-old English record for the fastest Test ton (debated as 72 or 76 balls). A sensible slowdown before lunch meant that target lives on.
Brook played the quieter hand, yet 60 of his 91 runs came in boundaries. “You always feel in the game with Harry around,” assistant coach Marcus Trescothick noted. “Jamie’s tempo allowed Harry to settle, which feels odd saying of Brook.”
India’s view
Siraj’s figures of 3 for 49 stand out, though his opening spell after drinks cost 27 as Smith advanced. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were milked, conceding 68 in 13 overs between them. “We missed a trick by getting too short, too early,” bowling coach Paras Mhambrey conceded. “Once Smith got a taste for it, the margins were small.”
What next?
England still trail by 338, so the afternoon offers two questions: can Smith and Brook push beyond India’s reach of the follow-on, and can the lower order narrow the gap enough to apply day-four pressure? India, meanwhile, will hope the second new ball (due in 13 overs) restores authority.
For now, though, a session that began with Siraj roaring has ended with Edgbaston roaring back. England are not out of the woods, but thanks to a 24-year-old wicketkeeper from Surrey, the path is at least visible.
