India set a target of 332 for England in the second Test
Shubman Gill finally found some runs in the ongoing Test series. On Sunday, he struck a delightful century on Day 3 of the second Test between India and England at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
India started the day with a lead of 171 with all 10 wickets in hand. The hosts added another 227 runs to set a target of 332 for England to win. Gill scored most of the runs in India’s second innings of batting, piling up 104 from 147 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes. After losing their opening pair of captain Rohit Sharma (13) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (17) in the second and fourth overs of the day, Gill stitched a crucial 81-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer (29) for the third wicket. Later, Axar Patel (45) joined hands with Gill to share an 89-run stand for the fifth wicket.
From being 211/5 at one stage, India lost their remaining five wickets for just 44 runs. England made a strong comeback, thanks to their spinners Rehan Ahmed (3/88) and Tom Hartley (4/77), who made good use of the conditions and bowled well to yield rich dividends.
Batting for the one last time in this Test, the visitors have made a solid start. They have scored 67 runs for the loss of one wicket in 14 overs, courtesy of a 50-run opening stand between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett (28). Crawley, the half-centurion from the first innings, is batting on 29 and has night watchman Ahmed (9 not out) for company.
With the match evenly poised after three days of exciting cricket, Day 4 is likely to produce a result.