A gripping hour so far after lunch. There’s still 27 overs until the second new ball, which means India are in no rush. But even so, it feels like Ravindra Jadeja should be batting with slightly more intent – or Jaspri Bumrah is going to have to survive for 80 balls or so. So far, Bumrah has got through 29 unscathed, looking utterly determined not to make a mistake.
Mid-off is up but he has boundary riders covering all points off the offside from backward point to deep extra and the legside from long on to deep backward square. After Jadeja plays tip and run off, you’ve guessed it, ball four, he brings up a slip and short leg for Bumrah who smothers the turn with an angled bat and keeps Root at bay. One run at at time, as Lena Martell nearly sang.
Drinks.
Jadeja gets low to block three from Stokes then shuffles back to take a single off the fourth with a whip through midwicket. Stokes lines up Bumrah for leg-before and is the width of his inside edge away from trapping him this as he jams his bat down and nudges it through square leg.
Here comes the man with the golden arm, old Frankie Machine himself, Joe Root.
It’s ball four (not Jim Bouton’s) again for Jadeja, riding Carse’s bounce to fence a single down through third man. Bumrah blocks one then wants a single off the last he turns into the legside but is sent back.
Stokes grabs the ball. What can he do with a soft one?
Woakes almost entices the drag-on when Jadeja hangs his bat out but it hits the pitch and squirrels the other way, away to gully. He takes a single off the fourth ball, digging out the yorker to mid-off and Bumrah survives the last two, blocking the yorker after walking across his stumps and then playing a formal forward defensive.
India send a message out to the middle. What could it say other than ‘Stay there’?
Stokes warming up. He’ll be replacing Woakes at the Nursery End next over, I’d think.
Jadeja leaves the first three on purpose and then can’t reach the fourth when trying to cut Carse. He opens the face to steer a single through point and give Bumrah one to face. It’s a yorker and the great exponent of that ball again proves himself adept at keeping them out. Physician heals himself.
IMMEDIATELY after a successful review, Ravi Jadeja goes BIG 💣
Are India blowing the Test match right open here? 👀 pic.twitter.com/3R1tgaxGHO
Afters successfully overturning the umpire’s decision to fire him out leg-before, Jadeja skips down to Woakes and launches him deep into the long pasture at cow corner for six! ‘Oh, Ravi Jadeja!’ rings out. The umpire calls over but there have been only five balls and he has to call Woakes back. Jadeja flicks that final ball over midwicket for a single to take the strike.
Carse will replace Archer.
Impact was outside off and he was playing a shot.
Jadeja lbw b Woakes Nip-backer but did it hit him outside the line?
Archer crashes one into Jadeja’s back pad via the inside edge, killing his appeal halfway up his throat. He leaves a couple and turns down a single when he cuts then takes a single off the fifth, opening the face of a vertical bat to slice it down to third man. With one ball to face, Archer and Stokes set the trap for Bumrah on the legside boundary and a short leg but calls his bluff with a full one that Bumrah drives uppishly through gully and turns down the single.
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