England took complete control of their third Test with India after bowling out their opponents for just 78 on day one at Headingley and replying with 120-0.
The tourists, leading 1-0 in the series and seeking back-to-back Test wins in England for just a second time, were wiped out in just over 40 overs after electing to bat first.
Virat Kohli's side surrendered their last six wickets for 30 and England made a more-that-steady start to their reply by the end of play on Wednesday thanks to Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed.
Star man James Anderson got England off to a flier as he picked up three wickets for the loss of six runs in his opening spell of eight overs, dismissing KL Rahul (0), Cheteshwar Pujara (1) and Kohli (7) in quick succession.
India were in trouble at 21-3 and, while they were given temporary respite by Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, the latter was soon sent packing by Ollie Robinson for 18.
Robinson picked up from where he left off after lunch with the wicket of Rishabh Pant, who edged straight into the hands of Jos Buttler for just two runs.
That was Buttler's fifth catch and England were not finished there as Craig Overton, in for Mark Wood, got Sharma – India's top scorer with 19 runs – caught trying an awkward pull shot.
Mohammed Shami was then caught at third slip by Rory Burns for a golden duck, before Sam Curran got Ravi Jadeja (4) and Jasprit Bumrah (0) both out lbw.
Mohammed Siraj (3) was the last to fall for a shocked India, the ball coming off his bat and landing in the hands of Joe Root at slip, leaving India with their ninth-lowest total in Test history.
England had the chance to get some runs on the board before the end of play and their batters steadily backed up their bowlers' hard work.
Burns and Hameed produced an unbroken century stand for the first wicket to give England a lead of 42.
Burns reached 52 by the close of play – his 10th Test half-century – and partner Hameed will resume at 60 not out on Thursday as England look to close in on an emphatic victory to level the series.
Headingley horror for India
India posted their third-lowest total against England with 78 runs and their lowest since 1974 when skittled for 42 at Lord's.
It was India's third-lowest score ever after electing to bat first, meanwhile, behind the 76 they managed against South Africa in 2008 and 75 against the West Indies in 1987.
England were rampant and Anderson in particular was in inspired form, setting the tone early on. Buttler also deserves special praise as he took five catches in an innings for a second time, previously doing so against the West Indies in 2015.
Hameed steps up on return to top two
Burns and Hameed refused to be budged as England became only the third side in Test history to bowl out the opposition and end day one in the lead with both openers still in play.
That is the 22nd new opening partnership used by England in the past nine years, with Hameed opening the batting in Test cricket for the first time since 2016 after jumping the order following Dawid Malan's recall.
Both men faced more than 100 balls but looked comfortable for large parts, with England's opening partnership registering a century at home for only the third time in five years.
Chris Gayle challenges Usain Bolt to race: “All Usain will be seeing is a lot of dust”
West Indian batting legend Chris Gayle has spoken about the time Jamaican spring king Usain Bolt got his wicket in a friendly game which led the hard-hitting batsman to challenge the sprinter to a race.
“Till this day, he’s still afraid of me. Doesn’t want to see me on a 100m track,” Gayle tells ICC in a new video released by cricket’s world governing body before breaking into a laugh.
“Of course, I’m a sprinter. All Usain Bolt will be seeing is a lot of dust and the Universe Boss just going down the stretch,” Gayle added.
In response, Bolt said “we all know Chris can’t run. We have seen him. We know Chris doesn’t do quick singles or anything. We’re not worried about Chris.”
Responding to this, Gayle said, “that’s a big lie. I run a lot of ones, twos, threes, you name it… sometimes even fours. So, Bolt, get your running spikes ready. And if you want to bring any other athlete along, you know, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, anybody. Somebody gonna come fourth. And it’s not me!”
Talking about Bolt taking his wicket, Gayle said that the incident had happened at a charity match where Bolt had bowled a “damn good bouncer” at him, following which he told himself to not hold back at the “fun game.”
“After the bouncer I said to myself, it’s a fun game. What am I doing? So, I start smashing him. Hit him for one or two sixes and probably for a few fours. Then, eventually, I get an inside edge onto the stumps,” said Gayle.
Gayle and Bolt are both ambassadors for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA from June 1-29.
DJ Bravo reiterates call for love, togetherness in T&T; to host peace walk on May 18
Former West Indies cricket captain Dwayne Bravo is again hoping to use his status and influence to shape a safer Trinidad and Tobago, as he is set to host a peace walk to raise awareness about crime in the twin island republic.
The event, Unity Walk 2024 – A Mother’s Cry, is scheduled to start at Memorial Park in Port of Spain, on May 18, at 10:00 am.
“Come out and let’s re-inject love, peace, unity and togetherness in our beautiful twin island,” Bravo said in a short video.
“Don’t miss out, get your crew, come out in your numbers. Walk for unity, walk for peace,” he added.
The walk is being held to raise awareness of domestic violence, drug abuse, gang warfare and murder.
This is another attempt by Bravo to not only encourage the youth of Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, to follow their dreams, but more importantly, to stay away from a life of crime.
Last year, Bravo, known for his electrifying all-round performances for West Indies and in franchise cricket, took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the crime situation.
"To the youths out there, please find your passion and follow your dreams! Drugs and guns (are) not the way forward,” he said then.
The two-time T20 World Cup winner made the plea under an excerpt of his song "Sad Place".
While the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) reported a five percent decrease in homicides — 577 in 2023 as compared to 605 in 2022 — citizens remain concerned about a high level of violent crime in and around the city centre of Port of Spain.
IPL: Capitals sneak past Titans after Pant heroics in free-scoring clash
Rishabh Pant stole the show with an unbeaten 88 as Delhi Capitals leapfrogged Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League table with Wednesday's nervous four-run victory.
Delhi looked in some trouble after Sandeep Warrier dismissed openers Prithvi Shaw for 11 and Jake Fraser-McGurk on 23 but Pant blitzed a remarkable 43-ball knock that contained eight maximums to help the Capitals to 224-4.
That onslaught from the India wicketkeeper came after Axar Patel – promoted up the order to number three – blasted 66 off 43 balls, though Wriddhiman Saha (39) and Sai Sudharsan (69) led the Gujarat fightback.
David Miller's quickfire 55 offered further hope yet impact player Rasikh Salam's 3-44 stunted that response.
With the Titans needing 19 from the final over, Mukesh Kumar (1-41) held on in a showdown with Rashid Khan (21 not out) to edge the Capitals over the finish line.
Data Debrief: Sharma sets unwanted IPL record
Though much of the credit went to Pant for his late-innings destruction, questions may be asked of Mohit Sharma, whose 0-73 from four overs marked the most expensive figures for a bowler in IPL history.
Mohit cannot shoulder too much blame, though, as this entertaining IPL clash saw only two bowlers concede less than eight runs an over – Warrier's 3-15 in the first innings before Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Saha and Rahul Tewatia (4) in his 2-29 Delhi spell.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
