Brook falls on 99 but England punish India’s sloppy fielding to cut lead

LEEDS, England – Harry Brook fell agonisingly short of a fairytale century on his home ground when he was out for 99 as England capitalised on India’s generosity in the field before they were dismissed for 465 on the third day of the opening test at Headingley on Sunday.

Resuming on 209-3 in reply to India’s 471 all out, England were dealt an early blow when overnight centurion Ollie Pope perished for 106 while Brook fell in the second session when attempting to bring up his century with a six.

Brook had got his eye in and steadied the ship with some crisp hitting, smashing 11 boundaries as he made India pay for dropped catches by bringing up his 12th test half-century.

He was given a third lifeline when he slashed at a wide ball to Yashasvi Jaiswal at fourth slip but the Indian opener fluffed the chance — his third dropped catch and India’s fifth in the innings.

The Yorkshire-born batter looked set for a big score before his moment of heartbreak came when he attempted to reach three figures with a flourish, lofting Prasidh Krishna over fine leg only to find Shardul Thakur stationed at the boundary rope.

A dejected Brook threw his head back and put his hand up to his face before he trudged back to the pavilion as the Headingley crowd overcame their disappointment to give him a standing ovation.

Krishna had also dismissed Pope with a shorter delivery when he nicked it to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps, with the batter adding only six runs to his overnight score.

FRUSTRATION FOR INDIA

A blustery day, which began with a moment of appreciation for former England speedster David “Syd” Lawrence who died aged 61, threatened to become frustrating for India when Ben Stokes hit Mohammed Siraj down the ground to bring up England’s 250.

India were less than pleased with the shape of the old ball, highlighted when Pant petulantly threw it to the ground during a chat with umpire Paul Reiffel after Brook had audaciously charged Siraj and guided one over the slip cordon.

The tourists persevered and skipper Stokes was livid with himself when he fell for 20, drawn into an edge by Siraj, while Jamie Smith took a smart review and survived after initially being given out lbw off Thakur.

Smith and Brook then stitched together a 73-run partnership as India struggled to stem the flow of runs.

But Smith fell on 40 when he hooked a short delivery to deep square leg where Ravindra Jadeja caught the ball and tossed it to Sai Sudharsan before he went over the rope.

Once Brook was dismissed, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse went after the bowling and built a 55-run partnership to frustrate the bowlers before Carse was bowled by a Mohammed Siraj yorker.

With India getting desperate, skipper Shubman Gill brought Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack and he completed a five-wicket haul by cleaning up the tail, dismissing Woakes and Josh Tongue with deliveries that crashed into the stumps. REUTERS

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