Lewis Hamilton says he will fulfil a “childhood dream” by racing for Ferrari in 2025 but is determined to finish his time Mercedes on a high.

The seven-time Formula One world champion sent shock waves through the sport on Thursday when it was announced that he would join Ferrari next year.

Hamilton had signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes worth £100million in August but the 39-year-old has activated a break clause in that deal after conceding the prospect of “driving in Ferrari red” was too hard to turn down.

“It’s been a crazy few days which have been filled with a whole range of emotions,” Hamilton said in a statement posted on his social media channels.

“But as you all now know, after an incredible 11 years at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, the time has come for me to start a new chapter in my life and I will be joining Scuderia Ferrari in 2025.

“I feel incredibly fortunate, after achieving things with Mercedes that I could only have dreamed of as a kid, that I now have the chance to fulfil another childhood dream. Driving in Ferrari red.

“Mercedes has been a huge part of my life since I was 13 years old, so this decision has been the hardest I’ve ever had to make.”

Hamilton won six of his world titles during a seven-year period between 2014 and 2020, but has struggled to match Red Bull rival Max Verstappen since he missed out on what would have been a record world championship in 2021 in controversial fashion.

The British driver is determined to sign off in style at Mercedes and their team principal Toto Wolff stated on Friday he had no concerns over Hamilton’s integrity.

Hamilton continued: “I’m incredibly proud of all that we’ve achieved together and I’m very grateful for the hard work and dedication of everyone I have worked with over the years and of course Toto, for his friendship, guidance and leadership.

“Together we have won titles, broken records and become the most successful Driver-Team partnership in F1 history.

“And of course I cannot forget Niki (Lauda) who was a huge supporter and who I still miss everyday.

“I must also share my huge appreciation to the whole of the Mercedes-Benz board and everyone at the company in Germany and around the world for supporting me over these 26 years.

“But the time is right to make a change and take on a new challenge. I still remember the feeling of taking a leap of faith into the unknown when I first joined Mercedes in 2013.

“I know some people didn’t understand it at the time but I was right to make the move then and it’s the feeling I have again now. I’m excited to see what I can bring to this new opportunity and what we can do together.

“However, right now, I’m not thinking about 2025. My focus is on the upcoming season and getting back out on track with Mercedes.

“I am more driven than ever, I am fitter and more focussed than than ever and I want to help Mercedes win once again. I am 100 per cent committed to the job I need to do and determined to end my partnership with the team on a high.”

The Dublin Racing Festival began as many expected with a Willie Mullins-trained winner, but not with the one most predicted, as complete outsider Dancing City beat favourite Predators Gold in the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle.

With Paul Townend plumping for Predators Gold from the four Mullins runners, punters took that as a clear hint he was seen as the number one contender, despite stepping up six furlongs in trip from his Christmas outing.

Townend settled the market leader at the rear, as Danny Mullins on Dancing City (16-1) set out to make the running at a sedate tempo, but Rachael Blackmore was having none of it and after half a mile Jetara was allowed to stride on.

Blackmore had a scary moment approaching the second last when she lost her left stirrup but was soon back on an even keel, although the Mullins pair loomed up on the turn for home.

Predators Gold had every chance on the outside but Dancing City kept on finding for pressure and went on to win by a length and a quarter. To Jetara’s credit, she stuck on gamely for third.

Former Irish Derby fourth Peking Opera made a successful start to his jumping career with a solid win at Sandown.

The son of Galileo was bought for 100,000 guineas after also scoring in Listed company for Aidan O’Brien and was sent off the 13-8 joint-favourite for the Virgin Bet Daily Extra Places Novices’ Hurdle.

Niall Houlihan had his mount tucked in behind front-runner Glengolly for much of the way and his jumping was smooth.

Peking Opera was almost forced to push on when a big gap opened up on the inside entering the home straight and quickly took control of proceedings.

Fellow market leader The Good Doctor threw down a challenge between the final two flights but was giving his rival 22lb in weight and was readily seen off on the run-in, going down by a length and three-quarters.

Winning trainer Gary Moore told Racing TV: “I expected him to run very, very well, but I’ve had two good horses beaten in this race over the last two years, so that did worry me.

“He’s a very lazy work horse at home and I couldn’t believe he was a different horse on the track. You could work him with a donkey at home and he’d just work with it.

“He’s always loved his jumping though, the more we’ve schooled him, the better he’s enjoyed it, so I think it’s turned him round.

“Niall was told not to hit the front until the last and he had to hit the front early, so it’s a good result.

“I brought him to a stiff track because I thought that would suit him on his Flat form, but I’m just going to change things now and I think he’s got the pace to go for the Adonis (Kempton, February 24).”

The JCB Triumph Hurdle would then be the ultimate target, but Peking Opera was pushed out to 33-1 from 20-1 by Betfair for Cheltenham Festival glory.

Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi insists Sunday’s clash with Juventus will not be decisive in the Serie A title race.

Italy’s top two clubs do battle at the San Siro with only one point separating the sides and the winner guaranteed to finish the weekend at the summit.

It will be leaders Inter’s first match at home in a month after two away trips were sandwiched by Super Cup success in Saudi Arabia and they could take a big step towards a first title since 2021 with all three points.

“Tomorrow’s match is very important, but not decisive,” Inzaghi told a press conference.

“It will be very close, in the first leg (game) it was not an exciting match, but now we are playing at home in front of our fans and we will try to play a match in the best possible way.

“Juventus had a great journey, similar to ours, we are preparing as best we can .

“Both teams will have pressure, we must be happy to play this great match. There will be pressure as it should be, but we must be proud to play this challenge, we will have the push of the fans who we want to make happy.”

Inter have won 17 of their 21 Serie A matches and could open up a four-point gap at the top with a game in hand with victory over Juventus.

The first clash between the teams ended 1-1 back in November, but the hosts will be without former Juventus ace Juan Cuadrado due to injury.

Inzaghi added: “There has been a lot of talk about favourites, we are Inter and we know we have great responsibilities in every match.

“We have already played 30 very positive ones, in January we played five matches in 22 days, of which the last four were away from San Siro and we won a trophy.

“We have to look ahead though, we want to make this match ours. I wouldn’t make comparisons though, there are still four months to go and it’s not yet decisive.”

Inzaghi has won eight cups since becoming a manager, but not tasted Serie A success.

Opposite number Massimiliano Allegri has won six Scudettos, five of them during his first spell with Juventus.

However, Inzaghi, 47, played down suggestions the match will be decided by the two coaches, with Allegri winning nine of their 18 meetings.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lega Serie A (@seriea)

“I have great respect for Allegri. Fortunately we have won a lot with Juventus, even if we have also lost in recent years,” Inzaghi said.

“The challenge is not Inzaghi-Allegri, but Inter-Juventus. The protagonists are the players who go on the pitch to help their teams.

“Allegri has won a lot, he is a winning and expert coach. He is very practical, I like him a lot.

“I think I saw an excellent Juventus this year. They won 16 games out of 21. They were very good, to keep the Inter’s pace required a super team and they are proving to be one.”

Michael Malone was left to ponder what life was like for the Denver Nuggets prior to Nikola Jokic's presence after another star turn from the two-time NBA MVP.

Having sat out Wednesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jokic returned to action in style in a 120-108 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jokic finished with 27 points, 22 rebounds and 12 assists for his 15th triple-double of the season.

"What life was like before Nikola got here," Denver coach Malone asked afterwards.

"I think people don't do that. They're like 'It's always been like this.' No it wasn’t. No it wasn't. Don't do that. Don't lie to yourself.

“We have been spoilt and I'm sure some of us do find ourselves maybe taking it for granted.

"But just remind yourself that not many guys like Nikola Jokic walk through those doors. Appreciate every opportunity that you have to watch him play."

Friday's game was the Nuggets' 50th of the season, with the reigning NBA champions recording a 34-16 record, exactly the same as they had at the same stage last season.

"I like that we are still playing with the same effort," said Jokic, who is averaging 26.3 points per game.

"It's not like we won a championship and now we're going to go easy. I like that we still want to compete and we still want to be better."

Zak Crawley epitomised both sides of England’s “risk and reward” strategy as India grabbed control of the second Test but has vowed not to dial down his attacking instincts.

Birthday boy Crawley, who turned 26 on day two in Visakhapatnam, batted majestically at times on his way to 76 from 78 balls but his dismissal proved a turning point.

Responding to the hosts’ 396 all out, England were motoring along on 114 for one when Crawley tried to smash Axar Patel’s third ball back over his head and holed out.

England never regained their composure as the imperious Jasprit Bumrah tore them down for 253 with a brilliant six-wicket haul, but Crawley had no regrets about going on the attack.

On tour here in 2021 he scored just 67 runs in four innings using a much more conservative plan and believes he is a better batter now that he is taking the game on.

“I wasn’t happy to get out when I did but I’d definitely do the same thing again,” said Crawley, who hit 11 fours and two sixes before coming unstuck.

“I was disappointed with myself, especially when the wickets fell afterwards, but I’ll keep telling myself to back my aggressive game because that’s what got me here.

“If I start doubting myself in those situations and not backing my instincts then I revert back to the player I was a couple of years ago, really not scoring many runs for my team.

“I’m happy that I’m much more aggressive now and that’s helped with consistency. If that one doesn’t turn and I hit him over his head for six then suddenly he’s under a lot of pressure and I can milk him for two hours or whatever.

“There’s risk and reward there. I’ve done it before and it’s come off but unfortunately it didn’t come off today.”

Crawley managed to get the better of Bumrah, at one stage hitting the seamer for four boundaries in a single over, but he was alone in that.

The 30-year-old was an unstoppable force once the ball started to reverse swing, gutting England’s middle order and mopping up at the end to finish with six for 45.

India stretched their advantage to 171 with all 10 second-innings wickets intact by the close of play but Crawley does not fear a big chase.

Despite seeing his side bowl India out for 202 to seal victory in the first Test at Hyderabad, Crawley hopes for friendlier conditions when the time comes.

“I feel it’s not breaking up like last week. I don’t think it’s going to turn as much,” he predicted.

“It will obviously turn more than it is now, that’s always the case here, but I don’t think it’ll be as tricky as it was fourth innings for them last week so I feel like we can chase a decent score.

“It’s a quick scoring ground, really small boundaries and a quick outfield.

“If you put them under pressure you can get on top of them. With a good couple of partnerships in the second innings we can really put them under some pressure but we’ve got to bowl well first and that’s all that’s on our minds now.”

LeBron James' immediate future with the Los Angeles Lakers is in no doubt, so says the superstar's agent.

There had been speculation that James, 39, could leave the Lakers ahead of next week's trade deadline.

But his agent Rich Paul insisted that those rumours are wide of the mark.

"LeBron won't be traded, and we aren't asking to be," Paul told ESPN.

James missed the Lakers' win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday due to injury. He posted an hourglass emoji on social media following a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, which only increased the speculation over his future.

The four-time NBA champion has a $51.4 million player option in his Lakers contract for next season.

Russell Westbrook is "so grateful" to be on the Los Angeles Clippers team after he tallied up 25,000 NBA points.

Westbrook became the fourth active player in the NBA, and the 25th player overall, to hit the 25,000 milestone when he nailed a running layup with 2:44 left during Friday's 136-125 win over the Detroit Pistons.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Clippers teammate Harden are the other active players to have passed the landmark.

Westbrook, meanwhile, is just the second player in NBA history with 25,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 8,000 assists, after James.

"I'm so grateful to be on this team," said Westbrook, who finished with 23 points. "I don't take any of this for granted."

"Thanks to God man, for allowing me to play the game I love, and be grateful for that. It's a blessing.

"Grateful to be able to play the game of basketball and use my platform to be able to share, impact and inspire people."

Westbrook's basket sparked jubilant celebrations on the Clippers' bench.

"It's a fun group," he added. "We've got good guys, we all hang out, all have fun.

"To see the love and support here from the coaches and my teammates, I'm super grateful for that."

Jaden led the Pistons with 28 points, and he had nothing but praise for Westbrook.

"I actually got to work out with Russ before the start of my rookie year," Ivey said.

"He gave me a lot of advice. He's just a great, humble dude. He took me under his wing a little bit."

The Clippers trailed by 14 points in the first quarter, but clicked through the gears as the game wore on, with Kawhi Leonard (33 points) leading the way.

They’re a tough young team, especially at home," said Westbrook. "We had to figure out how to play the right way, using our effort and energy to close out the game."

Pistons coach Monty Williams was frustrated with his team's sloppiness, however.

"You can't have turnovers and some of the undisciplined errors we had against a team like that," said Williams.

"It's something that has hurt us all season long. When we take care of [the ball], we have a better chance of success."

The Clippers are third in the Western Conference with a 32-15 record, while the Pistons remain rooted to the bottom of the East with the league's worst record (6-42).

Willie Mullins’ ever reliable State Man looks to retain his crown in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle against a familiar rival in Impaire Et Passe.

Since falling on his Irish debut, the seven-year-old has met with defeat just once in his last 10 outings for the Closutton maestro, when beaten by Constitution Hill in last year’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

His record includes seven Grade One wins and he was a four-and-three-quarter-length victor in this event 12 months ago when defeating the great Honeysuckle.

State Man’s two runs this season have both been convincing wins, as he took the Morgiana Hurdle and the Matheson Hurdle, the latter over stablemate Impaire Et Passe.

However, Mullins said of his runners: “State Man will have to turn up in the health he was in at Christmas, even better really, because Impaire Et Passe is improving all the time.

“I think conditions might suit Impaire Et Passe as well – and then you have Bob Olinger, who was very impressive in Cheltenham.

“He takes his chance here as well and he’s a good horse. Echoes In Rain we run as well, she’ll have her chance. It’s going to be a tip-top race, I think.”

Impaire Et Passe is owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede and has made a good start to life in the open division after winning the Ballymore at Cheltenham and the Champion Novice at Punchestown last season.

Anthony Bromley, racing manager to the owners, said of his chances: “Impaire Et Passe will run against State Man and will have his work cut out.

“I have huge respect for Bob Olinger in that race also and coming back in trip, he could be a big danger for us in terms of getting second place. It’s a small field but an exciting race.

“Daryl will ride him again and we will then make decisions on what we will do next, as he is entered in the Champion Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. We will see how we get on this Sunday.”

Bob Olinger looked back to his best last time out with a seven-length win in the Relkeel Hurdle, a run that came after a winning debut this term in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan.

Henry de Bromhead said of the nine-year-old: “It’s great to see him coming back to himself, we’re delighted with him, he seems in good form.

“We’re in the Irish Champion Hurdle, it’s going to be a very good race and we’ll all learn something.”

There is a sole entrant from Gordon Elliott’s yard in Fils D’oudairies, who completes the field.

England’s batters had no answer for the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah as India’s star paceman left the tourists in need of another dramatic turnaround in the second Test.

Ben Stokes’ side have made a virtue of never knowing when they are beaten – and overcame India’s 190-run lead to win last week’s series opener in Hyderabad – but found themselves back in familiar trouble as they were bowled out for 253 in Visakhapatnam.

That left them 143 behind after the first innings with India’s openers adding another 28 before the close.

Zak Crawley hit a free-flowing 78 on his 26th birthday and Stokes chipped another 47 off the deficit but Bumrah was almost unplayable at times as he claimed six for 45.

He served up a pace bowling clinic, getting the ball to reverse swing both ways at high speed and alternating between attacking the stumps and threatening the edge.

Ollie Pope suffered most extravagantly, with middle and leg sent flying as he groped at a toe-crusher, but he was not alone in finding Bumrah’s best too hot to handle.

At 114 for one and with Crawley motoring England were well positioned to take on India’s 396 but less than 34 overs later they were all out.

England took India’s last four wickets for 60 as James Anderson pre-empted Bumrah by showing off his own enduring skills. Handed a brand new ball in the morning the 41-year-old bowled eight overs unchanged, taking two for 17 in the latest reminder of his class.

He had the last word in a minor spat with Ravichandran Ashwin, who had been distracting him at the non-striker’s end before falling caught behind, and removed the brilliant Yashasvi Jaiswal for a match-defining 209.

The 22-year-old seems destined for cricketing superstardom but found out why so few have slogged Anderson and lived to tell the tale, stepping away and hacking straight to deep cover.

Anderson finished with impressive figures of three for 47, with Rehan Ahmed and debutant Shoaib Bashir wrapping things up to finish with three each.

England started their innings with a typically vibrant stand between Crawley and Ben Duckett, who put on 59 at a run-a-ball either side of the lunch break. Duckett could not kick on, popping Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist spin to silly point on 21, but Crawley was in fine form on the day he turned 26.

He needed a life on on 17 but the very next over saw him dispatch Bumrah for four boundaries. Crawley also slog-swept Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav for sixes but this was a sprint next to Jaiswal’s marathon.

The introduction of left-armer Axar Patel drew him into one big shot too many and he was well caught by the back-tracking Shreyas Iyer.

The ball had begun to take reverse swing and that meant trial by Bumrah. It took him only five balls to set up and knock over Joe Root, shaping a couple away in the channel then taking his outside edge with one that ducked back in and held its line.

Six balls later he summoned something even more spectacular to floor Pope, a match-winning centurion in Hyderabad. Fizzing in a furious yorker, he had Pope hopping on the crease as the ball snaked through and sent two stumps flying in opposite directions.

England survived until tea without further danger but the break in play merely allowed Bumrah to rest up and come again. Jonny Bairstow was next, following one that left him and threading to Shubman Gill at slip.

Pressure was building too fast for England’s liking and Yadav took advantage. Ben Foakes played inside the line and lost his off stump and Ahmed dragged a short ball straight to the midwicket catcher.

At 182 for seven, Stokes landed a few blows of his own and Tom Hartley shared the load in a stand of 47 but the resistance did not survive Bumrah’s return.

After one sighter he lit the crowd up again, coming round the wicket and knocking back Stokes’ off stump with one that scuttled through lower than expected. The England skipper let the bat fall from his hands and shrugged in disbelief before making his way to the pavilion.

Bumrah sealed his five-for at his next visit, Hartley off a thick edge, and closed the innings when Anderson fell lbw. Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma negotiated five overs at the end of the day, stretching the lead to 171 by stumps.

Ballyburn bids to continue the recent domination of Willie Mullins in the Tattersalls Ireland 50th Derby Sale Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown.

The champion trainer has saddled 10 of the last 11 winners of this Grade One event, with Gordon Elliott’s Samcro the only outlier on a roll of honour that features four other subsequent Cheltenham heroes in Vautour (2014), Klassical Dream (2019), Appreciate It (2021) and Sir Gerhard (2022).

Dual bumper winner Ballyburn was beaten by Firefox on his hurdling debut at Fairyhouse but was hugely impressive at the second attempt when scoring by 25 lengths at this venue over the Christmas period.

The six-year-old is prominent in ante-posts lists for both the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March and his target is likely to become clearer after he drops back in trip from two-and-a-half to two miles this weekend.

Ballyburn might not have things all his own way, with Elliott’s Farren Glory and the Henry de Bromhead-trained Slade Steel among his rivals.

Farren Glory is already a Grade One winner having landed the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse, and he may well have doubled his top-level tally in the inaugural running of the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day but for suffering a crashing fall two flights from home.

Slade Steel has so far won a maiden hurdle at Naas and the Grade Two Navan Novice Hurdle and steps up in class for the hat-trick bid in the hands of Rachael Blackmore.

“Slade Steel hasn’t put a foot wrong this season. He won his maiden hurdle over two miles at Naas in November, and he stepped up in trip last time and won the Grade Two Navan Novice Hurdle over two and a half miles,” said the jockey,

“This is back over two miles again, it’s another step up in grade into a Grade One race, and it looks like a high-quality race. Ballyburn looked very good in winning at Leopardstown at Christmas and Farren Glory won the Royal Bond Hurdle and was travelling like a winner at Aintree when he fell.

“But we’re very happy with Slade Steel. He came out of the Navan race really well, and we’re hoping he can run another big race here.”

Mullins allows three of his star novices to do battle in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase, with Gaelic Warrior, Fact To File and Grangeclare West all declared.

The Closutton handler raised the possibility of Gaelic Warrior dropping back in trip for a mouthwatering clash with Marine Nationale in Saturday’s Irish Arkle earlier in the week, but he instead goes over the longer distance of two miles and five and half furlongs 24 hours later.

That is not to say he has taken the easy option, however, with his stablemates Fact To File and Grangeclare West both having impressed at Leopardstown on their most recent starts.

It promises to be an informative contest with the Cheltenham Festival in mind, as Gaelic Warrior is a hot favourite for the Turners Novices’ Chase, while Fact To File and Grangeclare West are the top two in the betting for the Brown Advisory.

The Coolmore N.H. Sires “Hurricane Lane” Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race brings the Dublin Racing Festival to a close and once again Mullins possesses a strong hand, with Aurora Vega leading a four-strong assault.

Out of the brilliant racemare Quevega and a full-sister to Facile Vega, the daughter of Walk In The Park is three from three in the bumper sphere and will be a warm order to extend her unbeaten record in the hands of record-breaking amateur Patrick Mullins.

Tadhg Beirne says Ireland are brimming with “massive belief” after launching their Guinness Six Nations title defence with a landmark demolition of pre-tournament favourites France.

Andy Farrell’s reigning Grand Slam champions made a statement of intent in Marseille with a stunning 38-17 bonus-point win to propel themselves into pole position for further championship glory.

Ireland were a class above at Stade Velodrome, albeit their cause was aided by a first-half red card for France second-row Paul Willemse.

Munster lock Beirne, who claimed the second of five Irish tries en route to his country’s biggest victory away to Les Bleus, said the performance was a “special feeling”.

“You can’t really expect to beat France by a score like that,” he said.

“You always think it’s going to be a tight game and maybe if there wasn’t a red card it might have been a bit tighter but who knows?

“We also knew that with our ability and the way we play that we were going to be able to take it to this French team.

“Within this group, there’s a massive belief. It’s such an enjoyable group to be with and such an enjoyable group to play with; the way we play we all love it.

“Everyone’s involved and I felt from the get-go that we were just on it.

“It’s a special feeling when you’re in a game and everyone is doing their job right and everything is flowing.”

Both sides went into a mouth-watering tournament curtain-raiser on the back of agonising World Cup quarter-finals exits.

Jamison Gibson-Park, Six Nations debutant Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher were also on the scoresheet on Friday evening to ensure Farrell’s men bounced back from their last-eight World Cup exit to New Zealand.

Man of the match went to 22-year-old Leinster lock Joe McCarthy, who more than justified his selection ahead of James Ryan and Iain Henderson by producing a colossal display on his first appearance in the championship.

Beirne believes there is plenty more to come from his second-row partner, affectionately dubbed ‘Big Joe’.

“Well, he certainly was Big Joe out there,” said Beirne.

“He was physical, he did exactly what everyone was hoping that he would do and everything that we expected him to do. He does it in training, he’s so athletic and credit to him.

“What a first start in the Six Nations for Joe. There’s a lot more to come from him for sure.”

Ireland move on to a second-round clash at home to Italy after beginning the post Johnny Sexton era with a bang.

Fly-half Jack Crowley filled the void left by Sexton’s retirement, overcoming some errors to nail each of his five conversions and add a penalty.

Back-row forward Caelan Doris praised the impact of Test rookies Crowley, Nash and McCarthy.

“Momentum’s big in the Six Nations, we know that from previous years and it’s a pretty tough start coming over here,” he said.

“It’s a bit of a cauldron here, the French supporters are like no others in terms of volume – apart from the Irish, of course.

“We were aware of what we were coming into and it was just about playing our game.

“Obviously we’ve lost key figures, like Johnny, over the last number of months but other guys stepped up and it was a great night.

“It was class to see the likes of Joe and Jack step up massively and put in great performances.”

England lost four wickets in the afternoon session as Jasprit Bumrah gave India the upper hand on day two of the second Test in Visakhapatnam.

With James Anderson on song with the new ball, the tourists had earlier taken four for 60 runs to keep India to what seemed a manageable total of 396.

But despite the best efforts of birthday boy Zak Crawley, who peppered the boundary ropes in a free-flowing 76 at the top of the order, Bumrah’s brilliance had England 155 for four at the tea break.

In a devilish spell of reverse swing and seam, he had Joe Root caught cheaply at slip before detonating two of Ollie Pope’s stumps with a vicious yorker in his following over.

With Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow still at the crease, England will not have given up on making a serious dent in the Indian lead but the efforts of home opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was finally dismissed for 209, could yet prove the difference.

England started their innings with a typically vibrant stand between Crawley and Ben Duckett, who put on 59 at a run-a-ball either side of the lunch break.

Duckett could not kick on, popping Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist spin to silly point on 21, but Crawley was in fine form on the day he turned 26.

He saw a tough chance go down at short midwicket on 17 and exploded into life almost immediately.

The next over after his reprieve saw him dispatch Bumrah for four boundaries, including a pull in front of square and two immaculate on-drives. Ravichandran Ashwin fared little better, slog swept for six and then stroked with minimal fuss for two fours through the off side.

For a time India could not bowl to him but his knock was a sprint rather than a marathon.

The first over of Axar Patel brought it to an end, Crawley aiming a booming shot down the ground but failing to make a proper connection. It needed a fine diving catch from Shreyas Iyer, a smart take that bought India some much-needed breathing space.

By now they sensed the ball was reversing and Bumrah was ready to return. Root allowed a couple to sail through in the channel but when the paceman threatened to nip one back, the Englishman bit. He felt for contact as it held its line off the pitch and pinged a catch to slip with just five scored.

Six balls later, Bumrah had a second as he sent Pope’s middle and leg stumps flying in opposite directions. It was a brutal delivery and one that cut off the man who made a match-winning 196 last week in Hyderabad on 23.

Bairstow (24no) and Stokes held out to the end of the session without further damage but have a fight on their hands in the evening with England still 241 behind.

The morning had belonged in large part to Anderson. At 41 years of age he showed all of his experience as he bowled unchanged from one end and claimed two for 17.

It was metronomic stuff from the old stager, who had Ashwin caught behind to have the final word in a minor spat between the pair, and then dismissed the ebullient Jaiswal.

The 22-year-old seems destined for cricketing superstardom and threw his arms out in the style of Jude Bellingham when he brought up his double ton with a six and a four off Shoaib Bashir.

But he soon learned why so few over the years have slogged Anderson and survived to tell the tale. Stepping away and aiming for the stands, he only got half a connection and picked out Bairstow at deep cover.

Job done, Anderson handed over to the next generation, with wickets for Rehan Ahmed and Bashir leaving all three with three-wicket hauls.