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Mohammed Siraj leaves Joe Root devastated, gets Ben Stokes out for a golden duck, India pacer bites back after boos
Mohammed Siraj dismissed Joe Root (22) and Ben Stokes (0) off successive balls on his first over of Day 3 after the Edgbaston crowd booed him.
Mohammed Siraj had a false start on Day 3 of the second Test. He missed his run-up not once but twice. The second one attracted a boo from the English fans at Edgbaston in Birmingham. There was sarcastic applause after Siraj finally managed to bowl his first ball of the day. Quite a dent to a bowler's confidence right at the start of a new day, one would think. Yes, for most but not for Siraj. It took Siraj just two more balls to turn the tables.
He strangled Joe Root, England's best batter, some would say even the world's best batter, down the leg side to give India a dream start. It was a nothing delivery on the pads. If one has to be really critical, then pointing at Root's extra movement towards the stumps might be the only way to go. What that did was make him fall over ever-so-slightly. He could not offer the maximum part of his bat face. The ball touched the inside half and went within the reach of India keeper Rishabh Pant, who moved swiftly to his left to complete the catch.
IND vs ENG Day 3 Live Score
"Joe Root is devastated," said former India batter Dinesh Karthik on commentary. He sure was. It was the slowest possible walk back to the pavilion. On a placid batting pitch, when the opposition has gotten a towering 587 on the board, a well-settled Joe Root can be (should have been) the biggest threat, but he was gone for 22 in one of the most unexpected manners.
In-walked Ben Stokes at No.5. The England captain was yet to get a decent score in this series but he was as confident as ever. Siraj charged in and dished out an absolute snorter. The ball kicked from a good length and gave Stokes no chance to take his hands down. It touched the splice of his bat and settled nicely into Pant's gloves.
Siraj was off and running. There was no stopping the Indian fielders. Just like that, Siraj turned an out-of-rhythm off-balance start into a dream in a matter of three balls by dismissing Joe Root and Ben Stokes (0) off successive balls. This was after he had already sent back opener Zak Crawley in the last session of Day 1.
Resuming the day at 77 for 3, trailing India by 510 runs, England were reduced to 83/5 in the second over of Day 3.
"It's the moving day and India are moving in the right direction," said Karthik on commentary.
