Smith Hits 80-Ball Century as England Counterattacks to 249-5 Against India in 2nd Test
England trailed by 338 runs in response to India's 587 all out, but Brook (91) and Smith (102) were set on a good pitch at Edgbaston with their partnership up to 165. Behind 1–0 in the five-match series, India looked like steamrolling England after reducing the home team to 84–5 thanks to Siraj's double on the second over of the day.
The pacer dismissed England's best batter – Root (22) – by enticing a nick down the leg side, with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant taking a diving catch. Stokes arrived in the middle but was soon slowly walking back to the dressing room after a steeply rising and seaming delivery from Siraj came off the shoulder of the England captain's bat and flashed to Pant.
England was rocked, but Smith played as if there was no pressure, smashing three sixes as well as 14 fours – the last of which came in the final over before lunch and brought up his second test century. It came off just 80 balls, making it the third fastest by an English player.
England was going at 6.37 runs an over and was racing toward an initial target of 388 – the score needed to avoid the follow-on. Brook, who resumed with Root with England 77–3, was more circumspect but had still hit 11 fours and a six in a 127-ball knock.
England won the first test at Headingley.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
A Tip of the Cap to the Wimbledon Player Who Caught His Hat When It Fell Off But Still Won a Point
Perhaps Jordan Thompson deserved a tip of the cap for winning a set-ending point at Wimbledon while clutching his hat after it fell off his head during a serve. His opponent Friday, Luciano Darderi, thought that point shouldn't have been awarded to Thompson, but the chair umpire disagreed. 'I mean, my hat's fallen off before and I know what the rules are. It didn't hinder him; it hindered me,' said Thompson, an Australian ranked 44th who will face US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz next. 'So I don't know what he was complaining about.' At 5–4, 40–15 against Darderi, Thompson used a hat trick to put a lid on the opening set en route to a 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 victory that sent him to the fourth round at the All England Club for the first time. On a second serve, the backward baseball cap Thompson was wearing slid off as he landed on his follow-through. Thompson immediately grabbed it with his left hand and continued to wield his racket with his right hand for a point that wound up lasting seven strokes. It was capped by Thompson's backhand volley winner as he ran to the net with hat in hand. Has he ever carried that bit of his outfit around during a point before? 'That's the first time I can remember,' Thompson said. In the moment, Darderi thought chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani would stop the point and order them to replay it because of what happened with Thompson's chapeau. The 59th-ranked Darderi, who was born in Argentina and represents Italy, walked to the sideline pointing in Thompson's direction and pleading his case with Lahyani. At one point, Darderi yanked off his own white hat and yelled, 'It's the rule!' But Lahyani wouldn't budge, and Darderi chucked his racket toward the sideline seat, drawing some boos from spectators at Court 18. As the conversation between Darderi and Lahyani continued during the changeover between sets, Thompson pointed out that the rules address when a player's hat hits the court – 'Happened to me a few times,' he said – rather than if it's caught out of the air. 'It didn't seem normal to me to play a point with a hat in your hand. It was strange,' Darderi said at his news conference later. 'But it was just one point. It didn't change the match.' On that, both players certainly agreed.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Osaka's Honesty Cuts Through as Comeback Stalls at Wimbledon
Naomi Osaka is not one to hide behind cliches. When things go wrong, she doesn't deflect or spin the story. At Wimbledon on Friday, after a bruising Grand Slam defeat — this time at the hands of Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova — the former world number one was certainly in no mood for platitudes. "I'm just going to be a negative human being today. I'm so sorry," she told reporters, more weary than bitter, after her 3-6 6-4 6-4 third-round loss. "I have nothing positive to say about myself. Honestly, right now I'm just really upset." It was an unflinching performance in the press room, mirroring the one she had just delivered on Court Two. Osaka had started brightly, striking the ball with the same authority that once made her the sport's most fearsome hard-court hitter. But as the match wore on, the rhythm faded, the first serve faltered, and Pavlyuchenkova's relentless pressure told. "I low-key busted a vein in my hand," Osaka said with a wry smile, a throwaway remark that carried the weight of someone giving everything — physically and emotionally — to a cause that still refuses to cooperate. This wasn't Osaka being outclassed, it was a tight contest she believed she could win. "I actually thought I could play well. Not saying I didn't play well, but... make a deep run here," she said, her voice trailing into frustration. "Clearly, I need to work on a couple of things." Since returning to the tour after maternity leave, Osaka has shown glimpses of the player who once conquered Melbourne and New York. But her comeback remains frustratingly incomplete — flashes of brilliance surrounded by periods of struggle, Reuters reported. Asked about her goals, she was disarmingly open: "I feel like while I still have the opportunity to try to do it, I want to. Even though I get very upset when I lose... but I think that's my competitive nature. That's also the younger sister syndrome." On her daughter's birthday week, Osaka wanted to give herself — and her supporters — something to celebrate. Instead, she walked off court feeling once again the familiar ache of what could have been. "No person wants to feel this way, like, multiple times throughout the year, but tennis players are crazy, so..." she smiled sadly. "I'm glad to be done with this, and I'm looking forward to the hard courts."
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Owen Farrell's 'Aura' and 'Serious Quality' Will Help Lions in Australia, Teammates Say
Owen Farrell's curveball call-up by the British and Irish Lions was welcomed by his new teammates Friday. The former England captain was praised for his high standards and leadership qualities as he heads to Australia for his fourth tour. Lions coach Andy Farrell picked his son to replace the injured Elliot Daly, and it's a somewhat controversial selection. Owen Farrell hasn't played test rugby since the 2023 Rugby World Cup – he took a break from internationals to prioritize his mental well-being – and has had an underwhelming, injury-hit club season at Racing 92 in France, including a May 4 concussion, since which he hasn't played. However, the 33-year-old Farrell is one of the great England players of his generation, having earned 112 caps and scored more points than anyone else. He is now the only player in the Lions squad who was involved in the triumphant tour to Australia in 2013. 'You don't lose class. Faz is a class player, so I'm well happy,' said hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, who has played for England with Farrell. 'When it was announced internally, the reaction was good. Faz is a well-known player. He's played quality rugby over many years.' 'One thing about Faz is the standards he sets on the training field. He's got a bit of an aura about him on training fields, which makes you want to try and train to perfection. I know it's quite hard to perfect training every single day, but he definitely makes standards higher.' Farrell was arriving in Sydney on Friday and won't be playing in the tour match against the New South Wales Waratahs at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, when Tadhg Beirne will captain the Lions. 'Owen brings some serious quality. We're looking forward to him coming into the squad and getting to hang out with him,' said Beirne, who played with Farrell during the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa. 'Any type of leadership is only going to enhance the squad. Playing with him four years ago, I've seen all those leadership qualities that he brings. There's the quality of his talent as well, which will do nothing but boost the squad.'
