ENG vs IND | Stuart Broad flags injury issues in England camp, says bowlers are in 'red zone'

ENG vs IND | 2nd Test: My finger on lips celebration is for critics, says Mohammed Siraj

India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has stamped his authority with the ball right from the word go in his Test cricket and he has been among the wickets consistently. The right-handed pacer registered a four-wicket haul in the first innings of the second Test against England at Lord’s and came up with a “finger on lips” gesture. Siraj later explained about his celebration saying that it was directed towards the critics who had questioned his abilities. “This story (celebration) is for the haters (critics) because they used to say a lot of things about me like he cannot do this and cannot do that. So, I will only let my ball do the talking and hence this is my new style of celebration,” Siraj said at the virtual post-day press conference after the third day’s play of the second Test. The hosts rode on a brilliant ton from captain Joe Root who remained unbeaten at 180 to post 391 in reply to India’s 364, before getting bundled out for 391, taking a 27-run lead in the first innings against the visitors. Apart from Root, Jonny Bairstow notched up a half-century as well. The home side was looking pretty stable at one stage and was eyeing a big lead when Root and Bairstow were batting and then once again when Root and Moeen Ali were batting. But Ishant Sharma pulled things back for India, dismissing Moeen and Sam Curran on consecutive deliveries and returned with a three-for in the innings. India will now begin the second innings on Day 4.

WI vs PAK | 1st Test | Day 3: Match poised for thrilling finish after Babar Azam's half-century

Skipper Babar Azam and Vice-Captain Mohammad Rizwan did well to steady down the Pakistan second innings after the visitors came under threat at 65-4 after trailing by 36 runs in the first innings. With just 29 runs added to the dead, it was important for the two to take the responsibility and get the scoreboard ticking. However, earlier in the day, West Indies were able to add only a couple of runs to their overnight score of 251/8 in the first Test match against Pakistan and were bundled out for 253 in the first innings at Sabina Park, Jamaica. Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi eventually returned with figures of 4/59 while Mohammad Abbas scalped a three-wicket haul during the course. Pakistan then had a disappointing start once again as they lost opener Imran Butt for a duck. Abid Ali and Azhar Ali tried to steady the ship for the side and stitched together a partnership of 55 runs for the second wicket before Azhar was cleaned up by Kemar Roach for 23. A couple of more wickets were lost in quick succession as the Babar Azam led team was reduced to 65/4 before the captain was joined by wicket-keeper batsman Rizwan in the middle. The two batters resisted well against the Caribbean bowling attack and scored 56 runs for the fifth wicket. Rizwan was eventually undone by Jason Holder for 30 while Babar notched up a half-century and remained unbeaten at 54 at the end of the third day’s play. At 160/5, Pakistan were leading West Indies by 124 runs at stumps. Roach and Jayden Seales picked up two wickets each for West Indies on the day. Roach admitted that the first hour of play on a penultimate day will be crucial for both sides. “On a pitch that's pretty tough I think we are in a good position, five wickets away from bowling them out and tomorrow first hour will be very crucial to restrict them around 170-200 maybe. I knew I needed to bowl a bit straighter and using the crease and it worked well,” he said after the day’s play.

The Hundred | Rockets vs Originals: When & where to watch match Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

Seemingly equal on paper in terms of possessing impact players in their ranks, the contest between the Trent Rockets and the Manchester Originals will be a contest of equals. However, their journey and standings on the points table have not been equal as the Rockets find themselves at the fourth position on the points table while the Originals are languishing at the sixth position. The Rockets have won more games than they have lost out of the seven matches played so far while the Originals have been able to win only two games out of seven games so far this season. The presence of Dawid Malan and Alex Hales gives them solidity and flamboyance at the top of the order while Rashid Khan brings his X-factor to give the Rockets a competitive advantage over other sides. For Originals, Colin Munro, skipper Carlos Brathwaite and Matt Parkinson, who has only strengthened his reputation in the world of cricket in the last few months take the mettle of helping them to win. Trent Rockets vs Manchester Originals Match Number- 29 Date and Time: August 15, 2021, 11:00 pm IST, 06:30 pm Local, 05:30pm GMT Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham Live Stream: FanCode Pitch Report The pitch at Trent Bridge is likely to be true in nature and stroke players on both sides will love the ball coming onto their bats. Bowlers should also get decent help with the new ball but the margin of error will be too less due to the true nature of pace and bounce on the surface. Trent Rockets probable XI D Arcy Short, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Tom Moores (wk), Samit Patel, Steven Mullaney, Lewis Gregory (c), Rashid Khan, Matthew Carter, Marchant de Lange, Samuel Cook Manchester Originals probable XI Philip Salt (wk), Joe Clarke, Colin Munro, Colin Ackermann, Tom Lammonby, Carlos Brathwaite (c), Calvin Harrison, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Hartley, Steven Finn, Matthew Parkinson Fantasy XI Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Alex Hales (C), Colin Munro, Carlos Brathwaite, Samit Patel, Rashid Khan, Matthew Carter, Steve Finn, Tom Hartley, Rashid Khan(VC).

ENG vs IND | 2nd Test, Day 3: Root's chanceless hundred, Ishant's toil keep game wide open

Joe Root put on a masterclass of how to construct chanceless Test innings and scored a daddy hundred to help England boss the game on the third day of the second Test at Lord’s. The hosts were also helped by good fortunes and timing as the pitch was its best for batting and an in-form Root did not allow any Indian bowler chance to get him and put England under the pressure. For his good, he finally found support from all England batsmen for some period of time and England went past India’s 364 in the first innings. Mohammed Shami castled James Anderson, who was subjected to thunderbolts from Jasprit Bumrah, on the last ball of the day to set up things nicely poised for the last two days. Records tumbling for ‘run machine’ Root Joe Root has been the lone man standing for England in the year so far. The journey that started at Gall where he single-handily battled against Sri Lankan spinners on spinning pitches and the first Test against India in Chennai, came with the same intensity at Lord’s. He was just a few runs away from Graham Gooch’s tally of runs as the second-highest run-getters for England and he went past him in the easiest of easy manner. He bridged that gap between him and Gooch at Trent Bridge with a half-century and century in consecutive innings. He also had to fight his own form on home soil coming into the series against India and if the first three innings of the series are any hint of what he has become, the remaining three and a half Test matches are going to be one hell of toil for Indian bowlers. He played with such control and precision that none of the four pacers Kohli unleashed against him could make him feel hurried. He was so decisive on what he had to play at and what to leave that frustrated Indian had to finally accept that opportunities would be coming from the other end only. After coming into bat when England when two down fairly early in reply to India’s 364, Root carried his bat out of the ground at the end of the third day’s play. He scored his 22nd Test hundred and fourth at the Lord’s in the process of reaching the 9,000 runs landmark in the longest format. He stands behind only Alastair Cook and if he can continue his golden run with the bat, former England skipper’s tall tally will not be insurmountable for the skipper. Ishant’s toil and rewards Virat Kohli had handed over the new ball to Ishant Sharma in the afternoon session of the Test in a surprising move. The pacer was playing his first game after the World Test Championship against New Zealand and the first spell has had enough sample of rustiness in his rhythm. He was guilty of allowing England openers with deliveries they could easily leave and lacked penetration off the surface that appeared flat on the face of it. He was not at his best but slowly and steadily picked up his rhythm and line of attack. He has been very successful in the recent past for the more and more deliveries he has bowled in the fuller areas and Jos Buttler tasted the foul taste of the first such delivery. The wicketkeeper is going through a bad patch in the longest format and Ishant was keen to ask Buttler if he was willing to come forward to smother any sort of movement. Turned out the batsman was lacking in confidence and decisiveness to come forward and the ball moved enough to disturb his stump. His credentials against left-handers have also been exemplary and Kohli banked on him to break the dangerous-looking partnership between Moeen Ali and Root. He did not deliver immediately but eventually found a perfect delivery from round the wicket to lure Moeen into playing and Kohli himself took a low catch to keep India in the game. He brought India right back in the game after sending India’s perpetual nemesis with the bat—Sam Curran on the very first ball he faced. The length of the ball did not allow the left-hander to come fully forward while the line did not allow him to leave the ball and Rohit Sharma was delighted to see his back. It would be argued if India made a mistake by playing Ishant Sharma over Ravichandran Ashwin who could have brought more tricks on what was a flat surface at Lord’s but the pacer did all he was asked to deliver albeit after an initial struggle of finding a perfect rhythm. Looking ahead to the fourth day England have a lead of 27 runs and they would be looking to bundle India out cheaply and chase down runs to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. On the other hand, Virat Kohli-led Indian batting will be looking to make amends to their brittle batting in the middle order to set up a challenging total for the hosts. If the pitch remains as batting-friendly as it was on the third day, the Indian batting order, especially the beleaguered middle order of Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane should be willing to put their heads down and search for some vital runs for themselves and the team. The game is wide open with two innings remaining to be played on the last day, but with a lead of 27 runs, a brittle Indian batting lineup and a longer tail, England would be thinking they are in with a massive opportunity.