Dom Bess takes 4 wickets as England take control on Day 3

It was another perfect day for England in the Chennai heat, as they strengthened their grip on the 1st Test Match against India. England ended the day with a mammoth lead of 321 runs over the Indians and 4 wickets left to get the hosts all out in the first innings. Dom Bess starred for the visitors as he picked up four wickets including the crucial one of Indian captain Virat Kohli. The highlight of the days play however was the superb counter-attack launched by Rishabh Pant against the England spinners and Jack Leach in particular.

England started the day with tail-enders Dom Bess and Jack Leach continuing to frustrate the Indian bowlers. England managed to add 23 more runs in the morning for the last 2 wickets to set a total of 578. They kept India in the field for a record 190.1 overs, the longest first innings in Test Cricket in over 15 years. 

Jofra Archer, playing his first Test in India, then made the immediate impact with the ball. He was able to get considerable movement off the surface and picked up the wickets both of the Indian openers before lunch. Rohit Sharma edged a delivery to Jos Buttler behind the stumps while Shubman Gill who had raced to 29 of 28 balls, chipped one to James Anderson at mid-on.

India took a more cautious approach post-lunch, with Virat Kohli playing his first game since the infamous 36 all out in Adelaide. The Indian captain, however, didn’t last long at the crease and was the first victim of Dom Bess’s India trip. The off-spinner managed to catch Kohli’s inside edge which flew straight to Ollie Pope at short leg. India’s Vice Captain Ajinkya Rahane was quick to follow Kohli to the pavilion, hitting a full-toss to the cover region where Joe Root took an excellent one-handed catch.

India was reeling at 73/4 when the stars of India’s series victory in Australia, Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara took to the crease. Pant didn’t take long to take the attack to English bowlers and he took a particular liking to left-arm spinner Jack Leach. Despite the threat of fielders manning the boundaries, Pant hit Leach for four 6s in seven deliveries. Each of them reached half centuries before Pujara fell to Dom Bess due to a serious slice of misfortune. India’s number 3 pulled a short ball from Bess which hit Pope on his back at short-leg before landing straight into the hands of mid-wicket. Pant followed soon after, slicing a delivery from Bess into the hands of the fielder on the cover boundary. Pant was only 9 short of a century, and this was the 4th time in his short career that he was stranded in the nervous ’90s. 

The pairing of R Ashwin and Washington Sundar managed to close out the rest of the day without losing any more wickets. India finally ended the day at 256-6, needing another 122 runs to avoid the follow on with England firmly ahead in the Test match.