IND vs ENG - Double blow for England as Team India sends back Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow

In desperate need of a breakthrough, India dismissed two key players - England opener Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow - just before the lunch break at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Kuldeep Yadav accounted for the English opener, while Jasprit Bumrah sent back the middle-order batsman, leading both teams to head for lunch.

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Given his excellent form, Crawley's wicket was crucial, marked by smashing boundaries with 8 fours and a maximum. Kuldeep Yadav intervened to stop the run flow, delivering a flat-length ball on leg stump. Crawley attempted to whip it off the back foot, but the ball stayed low, striking his pad. Initially hesitant, Team India eventually opted for a review, which confirmed Crawley's dismissal for 73(132), sparking celebrations from the Indian players and their captain.

Shortly after, Jasprit Bumrah returned to the attack, still seeking his first wicket of this innings. It didn't take long as he dismissed Jonny Bairstow. On the fourth ball of the over, a length ball pitched outside off darted in off the seam, and trapped Bairstow on the back pad. Despite initially being given out by the on-field umpire, Bairstow opted for a review. Ball-tracking suggested the ball would have clipped the leg stump, upholding the umpire's decision, and Bairstow departed for 26(36), including 5 fours.

At lunch, England had scored 194 runs and lost six wickets, with Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes at the crease, and they required 205 runs to win. R Ashwin is on 499 Test wickets and needs one to reach his milestone.

On Day 3, India were all out for 255, taking a 398-run lead. Shubman Gill scored 109 runs while Axar Patel got 45, and both Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin scored 29 runs each. In the previous innings, the Men in Blue scored 396 runs before being all-out. Yashasvi Jaiswal's maiden double-century, scoring 209 runs, while Shubman Gill contributed as the second-highest scorer with 34 runs. In return, the visitors began promisingly, with Zak Crawley notching 76 runs and Ben Duckett adding 21. Ben Stokes scored 47 while Tom Hartley played a cameo of 21 runs.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.