Cricket-Smith's lightning century rescues England after horror start against India
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) -Jamie Smith smashed England's third-fastest test century to drag the hosts back from the brink against India after a nightmare start on day three of the second test had captain Ben Stokes fall for a first-ball duck at Edgbaston on Friday.
Resuming on their overnight score of 77-3, England slumped to 84-5 after losing Joe Root and Stokes in consecutive deliveries in the day's second over from Mohammed Siraj.
But Smith's blistering 80-ball hundred and Harry Brook's unbeaten 91 powered them to 249-5 at lunch.
The pair's unbeaten 165-run partnership off just 154 balls transformed England's fortunes as they trail India by 338 runs, with Smith reaching his second test century in the last over before the break with two boundaries off Ravindra Jadeja.
Siraj delivered the early hammer blows, dismissing Root for 22 when he flicked the ball down the leg side, only to direct it into the safe hands of Rishabh Pant.
On the very next ball, Stokes made a feeble attempt to nudge a short delivery but edged the ball to the Indian keeper.
His golden duck meant three of England's top six were dismissed without scoring, following Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope's ducks off consecutive deliveries from Akash Deep late on day two.
But Brook and Smith quickly seized control, with England accelerating to over five runs per over as both batters brought up their half-centuries.
While Brook looked to anchor the innings, Smith survived the hat-trick delivery and then scored at over a run a ball to reach his milestone in style in a pure display of counter-attacking cricket.
They particularly targeted India's third seamer Prasidh Krishna, who conceded 23 runs in one over, while Smith welcomed Washington Sundar into the attack with two consecutive boundaries through extra cover.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Tennis-Djokovic thumps Kecmanovic for Wimbledon ton and spot in last 16
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action during his third round match against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) -Seven-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic roared his way to a rare century at the grasscourt Grand Slam on Saturday when he outclassed Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-0 6-4 and reached the fourth round in his quest for a record 25th major. The sixth seed's stellar display ensured that he became only the third player to claim 100 match wins on the All England Club lawns after nine-times champion Martina Navratilova and eight-times winner Roger Federer. Djokovic started and finished the opening set with aces and grabbed the decisive break during the see-sawing eighth game. At one point he had the Centre Court crowd standing in ovation when he produced a spectacular diving winner at the net. His 49th-ranked Davis Cup teammate cracked on serve in the opening game of the second set and allowed Djokovic to quickly reel off the games and double his advantage in what suddenly became a lopsided contest. Kecmanovic raised his fist to applause when he stemmed the flow at the start of the third set but a double fault gifted his opponent the break in the third game and there was no stopping Djokovic as he booked a clash with 11th seed Alex de Minaur. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Tennis-Dimitrov single-handedly flying flag at Wimbledon for old-school backhand
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2025 Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov in action during his third round match against Austria's Sebastian Ofner REUTERS/Isabel Infantes LONDON (Reuters) -For tennis purists the sight of a single-handed backhand pinging off the centre of a racket is a joy to behold but it is becoming rare and Grigor Dimitrov, one of the best exponents of the shot, believes it could soon vanish. The 34-year-old former world number three describes hitting a one-handed backhand as like hitting the jackpot and the shot has helped him to career earnings of more than $30 million. He used it to great effect on Saturday as he beat Austria's Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-4 7-6(0) in front of an appreciative Court Three crowd, reaching the last 16 of Wimbledon for the fifth time with his 100th Grand Slam match win. But with eight-times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet and Dominic Thiem all retired and Stan Wawrinka in the twilight of his career, the single-handed backhand club has a shrinking membership. Of the current top 20, only Italian Lorenzo Musetti does not have a double-fisted backhand, the stroke that most juniors these days are taught to hit. It is even rarer in the women's where a double-hander now seems almost obligatory, although the slice is still played single-handed. "The backhand with one hand is the same thing over and over again. Once you hit it, it feels like jackpot," Bulgarian Dimitrov, the only man left in the singles with a one-handed backhand, told reporters. "Listen, I think over the course of the next years we will see it less and less. That's just how it is. The tennis has sped up so much. Everybody is hitting harder, stronger, off both wings. There's not enough time." Putting two hands on the racket to drive a backhand enables players to be more stable through the shot and deal with higher balls and for many it is a simpler, more repeatable action. Dimitrov, who will face top-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner next, said he would never change. "I'm always forever going to be a one-handed guy, whatever I say. I'm so biased that it's probably the worst question to ask me," he told reporters. "You can still capitalize on that. Of course, there are many strengths, especially on a grass court. "I would say being able to hit a decent slice on grass court sets you up right away with the next shot. "Everyone keeps saying it's a lost art of it. But it's not really that lost because if you manage to navigate that, let's say, wing for a one-hander, you'll be able to get a hold of it. "Do you have to work way more with your body? Yes." Swedish great Bjorn Borg was a trailblazer of the double-handed backhand as he won 11 Grand Slam titles in the 1970s and early 80s while American Jimmy Connors made it his trademark, but in those it was a rarity in men's tennis. Now it has come full circle. When Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped out of the ATP's top 10 to leave it devoid of single-handed backhands, Swiss maestro Federer described it as a painful moment. "That's a dagger right there," he said in March. "I felt that one. That one was personal. I didn't like that." (Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Cricket-'Prince' Gill joins elite with 430-run haul at Edgbaston
Cricket - Second Test - England v India - Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, Britain - July 5, 2025 India's Shubman Gill celebrates after completing his century Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) -Shubman Gill joined elite company when he followed up his captain's knock of 269 in the first innings with 161 in the second as England struggled to find a chink in the armour of the man nicknamed "The Prince" at Edgbaston on Saturday. As India piled on the runs to set the hosts a mammoth target of 608, Gill became only the fifth man to score 400 runs in a test, joining an illustrious list including England's Graham Gooch, Australian Mark Taylor, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and West Indian Brian Lara. Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad took 604 test wickets but struggled to find a weakness in Gill's batting. "As a bowler, I'll be looking for technical things so I could expose him, but he's not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he's played stylishly," Broad told Sky Sports. "He's played with huge responsibility, under big pressure. It's breathtaking and deserves all the applause he is going to get." India have never won a test match at Edgbaston but the venue will go down in history as the first ground where they registered more than 1,000 runs in a test match (1,011). In his second match as captain and under fire from day one after resting Jasprit Bumrah, the world's number one ranked test bowler, Gill took on the England attack and plundered 430 runs in two innings. He became only the second batter in history to score 200 and 150 in the same test match after Australian great Allan Border, 45 years ago, while he is behind only Gooch (456) for most runs by a batter in a test. He surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's long-standing record of 344 runs in a single test for India, which came against the West Indies 54 years ago. Indian batters have often struggled in seaming conditions in England but Gill mixed elegance and explosiveness to torment the bowlers. Having also scored a century in the first test, Gill took his run tally to 585 in two matches. The Indian record for most runs in a test series in England belongs to Rahul Dravid (602) while Virat Kohli scored 593. Gill could easily break that record at Lord's in the next match and the sky is the limit with three matches left. He also set the record for the most sixes by an Indian captain when he cleared the rope eight times in the second innings as India set England a massive target of 608 to win the match. "Well played, Star Boy. Rewriting history," Kohli wrote on Instagram. "Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this." (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;, editing by Ed Osmond)
