London, Aug 3 (IANS) Mohammed Siraj castled Zak Crawley with a brilliant yorker to leave England on 50/1 in 13.5 overs at stumps on day three of fifth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test against India at The Oval. England need another 324 runs to win the match and clinch a series victory.

After bowling out India for 396, with England being set a target of 374 to win, the hosts’ had done so well to survive the last hour. But Siraj taking out Crawley for 14 at the stroke of stumps gave India a much-needed lift ahead of a crucial day four’s play. Siraj is also the equal leading wicket-taker in the series alongside England’s Josh Tongue.

Just like in the first innings, Crawley and Ben Duckett (34 not out) got them off to a breezy start as India got Prasidh Krishna to share the new ball with Akash Deep instead of Siraj. Barring a couple of deliveries from Akash having extra bounce, England weren’t too troubled, as there was lack of seam movement on offer for the Indian bowlers.

Duckett began by picking effortless boundaries via flicks, whenever Prasidh bowled fuller. Crawley took a four each off Akash and Prasidh before a measured Duckett drove and slashed Siraj for boundaries. After a maiden from Siraj, Crawley faced 18 dot balls in a row before breaking free with a single.

By the time stumps were in sight, the opening partnership crossed 50 runs and it seemed England had done enough to end the day unscathed. But Siraj produced a superb inswinging yorker to past Crawley’s bat and hit the off-stump to end the day with a magical moment for India, who need to win the game for making the series scoreline 2-2.

Previously in the session, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar hit 53 each as India were bowled out for 396 in 88 overs. The day began with Akash Deep hitting an entertaining 66, his first Test fifty and was followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal making 118, his sixth Test century. Jadeja and Sundar, who timed his acceleration well, then smashed half-centuries each to set an imposing target for England.

For England, Josh Tongue took 5-125, while Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton took 3-127 and 2-98 respectively. Initially, India’s lead went past 330, before Overton trapped Dhruv Jurel lbw for 34. Jadeja got his fifth fifty of the series by punching Tongue through backward point for four, before edging to second slip off the pacer. Three balls later, a fired-up Tongue trapped Siraj lbw.

Sundar then began his acceleration by hoicking Atkinson over midwicket for six, before swivelling Tongue over fine leg and mid-wicket for a brace of maximums. The all-rounder cut and pulled Atkinson for back-to-back boundaries, before bringing up his fifth Test fifty from 39 balls by smacking the pacer over mid-wicket for six.

But in a bid to take another six off Tongue, Sundar skied a catch into the leg side, where Zak Crawley held on to it, despite colliding with Ollie Pope. It gave Tongue his five-wicket haul, as England are now on the pursuit of achieving their second-highest chase in Tests, with 324 runs still left to be made.

Brief Scores: India 224 and 396 in 88 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 118, Akash Deep 66; Josh Tongue 5-125, Gus Atkinson 3-127) lead England 247 and 50/1 in 13.5 overs (Ben Duckett 34 not out; Mohammed Siraj 1-11) by 324 runs

–IANS

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