TimesofIndia.com in Birmingham:
“Harry… Harry Brook… Harry… Harry Brook”The Eric Hollies Stand at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground was at its loudest when Akash Deep gave India a much needed breakthrough in the final session of Day 3. After toiling hard for more than 61 overs and conceding at nearly five an over, the visitors finally had something to cheer for on what was a leather chasing day. The notorious spectators of the Hollies Stand were kept busy during the marathon 303-run stand between Brook and Jamie Smith, and they were up on their feet to give an epic send-off to the right-hander who was castled for a solid 158.When he walked in to bat, England were in deep trouble at 25/3. At first, he stabilised proceedings with fellow Yorkshireman Joe Root and then dominated with Jamie Smith. The rub of the green again went his way on a couple of occasions as he survived an umpire’s call, nearly played one back on to his stumps but continued to hang on like he did in Leeds. And capitalised even better than he did at Headingley.
At the start of play on a coldish morning, enough runs on the board meant India bowlers were going to have a spring in their stride and Mohammed Siraj, even without hitting the right rhythm, managed to remove Root and Ben Stokes off consecutive deliveries.84/5 and India had England on the mat. The approach and response was keenly watched during this delicate phase of the game, and England did what they do best – attack. And attack well.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?Smith was a breath of fresh air and he raced to fifty, hundred and then 150, and punished India’s six bowling options along the way. Brook played the perfect ally and tightened up as his innings progressed. From the urgency at the start to patience after crossing three-figures, two different Brooks were on exhibition but both frustrated India. And frustrated them for a very long time.India skipper Shubman Gill rotated his bowlers, changed the field, chased the deliveries but nothing worked for India on a surface which had nothing for the bowlers, especially when the Dukes went soft in the post Lunch session. The two bowlers – Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja – who were expected to do the containing job, leaked runs at over 4.5 in the 31 overs they bowled, and returned wicketless. Nitish Kumar Reddy was only used as a filler for six overs and Prasidh Krishna continued doing Prasidh Krishna things as he sprayed it all over to concede 72 runs from his 13 overs.
Poll
How do you rate the performance of Mohammed Siraj in this match?
With nothing going their way, India’s best bet was going to be the second new ball and the visitors first struck with Akash Deep who removed Brook and Chris Woakes, and Mohammed Siraj did a fine cleanup job to pick the final three wickets in quick succession, and complete his maiden fifer on English soil.During this period of play, Gill-led unit picked five wickets and conceded just 31 runs. The hosts were thus bundled out for 407 to give India a substantial 180-run lead.
It was a weird England innings as six of their batters fell for ducks but they still managed to post 407, thanks to that big stand between Brook and Smith. On this pitch, in these conditions against England’s strong batting lineup, India will take this lead with open arms but it would hurt them because there was another opportunity to close the game, this time with the ball, but some fine batting and erratic bowling didn’t help their cause.Even after going with six bowling options, India were a two-man attack as the others lacked bite, and most importantly control. Both Akash and Siraj asked the right questions with the hard new ball, with Siraj in particular setting the stage alight with his six-wicket haul. He has been a workhorse for India in recent Test outings but his erraticness and somewhat poor luck hasn’t given him the numbers he would have liked.For the rest of the match, and the series, he would hope it remains this way and the Hollies Stand gets behind him too. For a player who has been booed far too often, “Mohammed… Mohammed Siraj… Mohammed… Mohammed Siraj” will be music to his ears.
