Smith and Brook tons lead England revival against India in second Test

eNCA

2 days ago

EDGBASTON - Jamie Smith made the highest Test score by an England wicketkeeper of 184 not out and Harry Brook added a large century of his own as the pair shared a stand of over 300 runs against India at Edgbaston on Friday.
England were in dire straits at 84-5, more than 500 runs behind, when the duo came together early on the third day of the second Test after Mohammed Siraj had dismissed Joe Root and captain Ben Stokes with successive deliveries.
But they went on to add 303 runs before Brook fell for 158, with England just one run shy of the follow-on.
And by the time England were dismissed for 407, Smith had surpassed Surrey mentor Alec Stewart's previous highest Test score by an England wicketkeeper of 173 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1997.
The second new ball, as the first one had done, however, proved England's undoing, with Siraj (6-70) and the recalled Akash Deep (4-88) sharing all 10 wickets in an England innings featuring six ducks.
India, looking to level the series after last week's five-wicket loss in the first Test at Headingley, still led by 180 runs on first innings after making a total of 587 built on captain Shubman Gill's superb 269.
Smith came in on a hat-trick but the 24-year-old signalled his intentions from his first ball by off-driving Siraj for four.
It was the start of a blistering 80-ball hundred that included 14 fours and three sixes as Smith joined a select group of batsmen to have made 100 runs before lunch in a session of Test cricket.
England resumed on 77-3, with Root and Brook -- the world's two top-ranked Test batsmen -- 18 not out and 30 not out respectively.
- Siraj double blow -
AFP | Darren Staples
But, in the second over of the day, Root glanced fast bowler Siraj down the legside to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
And the very next ball, Stokes was undone by a superb rising delivery from Siraj that he edged to Pant, with England now 84-5.
It was the first golden duck of all-rounder Stokes' 113-Test career.
India had rested Jasprit Bumrah, the world's number one ranked Test bowler from their side at Edgbaston, in order to protect the fast bowler's fitness in a series where he is expected to feature in just three out of five matches.
But in his absence, Smith -- with blue skies and a largely placid pitch still in the batsman's favour -- smashed 22 runs in a single over from paceman Prasidh Krishna, including a six and four fours.
Smith, showing no ill effects from the strain of keeping wicket for 151 overs in India's first innings, cover-drove recalled spinner Washington Sundar's first two balls for four.
Consecutive fours off experienced left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the last over before lunch, a straight drive followed by a sweep, saw Smith complete an astounding century.
Brook, 91 not out at the interval went to a hundred after giving his wicket away on 99 in the first Test.
AFP | Darren Staples
And when he later cut Jadeja for a single it was the fifth time in his nine Test hundreds that Brook had exceeded 150.
But Deep, given the unenviable task of replacing Bumrah, eventually broke through with the new ball by bowling Brook with a fine delivery that darted back off the seam. He had previously reduced England to 13-2 on Thursday by dismissing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks in consecutive deliveries.
And together with Siraj he cleaned up the tail, even as Smith smashed Deep for six over long-on to bring up England's 400.