London: Mohammed Siraj produced a lionhearted spell and Prasidh Krishna cleaned up the tail to script India’s spirited comeback after a brutal assault from England openers on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test here on Friday.
After a forgettable opening session where Siraj and Co were taken to the cleaners by Ben Duckett (43 off 38) and Zak Crawley (64 off 57), the Indian pacers redeemed themselves by bowling out England for 247 in the final session, giving the hosts only a slender 23-run lead.
Both Siraj and Prasidh ended with four-wicket hauls.
India lost the reliable KL Rahul (7 off 28) in their second innings to a rare loose shot from the opener. At close, India were 75/2 in 18 overs, leading England by 52 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (51 batting off 49) batted with aggressive intent despite being dropped twice while Sai Sudharsan (11) was trapped in front by Gus Atkinson shortly before stumps. Jaiswal had got going with three fours in Atkinson’s opening over including a sublime straight drive before being given a chance on 20 ad 40. He brought up his third fifty of the series with a ramp off Jamie Overton that went all the way.
Close to stumps, a third catch was dropped when Zak Crawley grassed a regulation chance offered by Sudharsan at third slip.
Before that, England were bowled out in the final session following Harry Brook’s belligerent 53 off 64 balls. The highlight of his effort was a falling sweep off Siraj that went all the way for six.
In the afternoon session, Siraj struck thrice in a fiery eight over spell. At tea, England were 215/7, effectively eight down with Chris Woakes not available to bat due to a shoulder injury.
The wickets to fall were England’s batting mainstay Joe Root (29 off 45), Zak Crawley (64 off 57), stand-in captain Ollie Pope (22 off) and Jacob Bethell (6 off 14).
A heated exchange of words between Root and Prasidh was also among the talking points of the session.
After being blown away by the England opener in the opening session, Indian pacers found their lengths post the break. Prasidh sent back Crawley who mistimed a pull to be pouched at midwicket.
Siraj got rid of Pope and Root with a nip backer before firing an inswinging yorker into Bethell’s pads. The pitch continues to provide plenty of assistance to the seamers.
Whether it was targeting the pads with the wobbled seam or producing late swing, Siraj was relentless, displaying that he was not a firm believer of workload
management.