Watch: Kuldeep Yadav gets rid of Zak Crawley with an absolute ripper

Indian wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav dismissed England batsman Zak Crawley with ripper for 60 runs off 91 balls.

Kuldeep asked captain Rohit to leave the cover region open, Crawley went back to play the ball but was beaten by plenty of turn and the ball went onto hit the top of the middle stump. Kuldeep took a very important wicket for India as Crawley could have been very dangerous for India.

On the first ball of the 29th over, the ball pitched outside the line of the stump on a good length. The ball didn’t bounce much and took a huge turn by which Zak Crawley got beaten and was removed by Kuldeep Yadav.

Watch – Kuldeep Yadav dismisses Zak Crawley with a ripper

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Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin put England on the backfoot at the start of their second innings by taking three wickets in quick succession. Ashwin removed the danger man Ben Duckett for 15 runs by getting him caught at short leg to Sarfaraz Khan and struck on the very next ball to dismiss Ollie Pope for a golden duck. Ashwin added more insult to injury when he caught Joe Root in front for 11 runs and reduced England to 65/3. Root was the centurion in the first inning and remained unbeaten on 122 runs.

Now the main task will rise for England as they have not been able to perform as a full batting unit and have been dependent on individual performances. The pitch will get slower as time passes and it will become even more difficult for the English batsmen to play the Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.

India started off Day 3 on a positive note wherein wicket-keeper batsman Dhruv Jurel and his partner Kuldeep Yadav batted without pressure. Kuldeep not being a specialised batsman played 113 balls and scored 28 runs. He was removed by James Anderson. Before getting out, Kuldeep added 76 runs off 202 balls and put the opposition under pressure. Jurel on the other hand played some decent shots and reached his maiden Test half-century. Akash Deep wasn’t able stay at the crease for long and got dismissed by Shoaib Bashir, helping his gain his maiden Test fifer.

On the other hand, Dhruv Jurel played a fighting knock of 90 runs from 149 balls. He smashed 6 fours and 4 sixes during his stay at the crease. At last, Jurel lost his wicket against English bowler Tom Hartley. Jurel missed out on a well-deserved century by taking India from 219/7 to 307 runs in reply to England’s 353 runs in their first innings.

Dhruv Jurel was given a standing ovation by the Ranchi crowd whereas his teammates also lauded his batting effort in the dressing room.

England would now hope to put up a decent target for India in their second innings as it will not be easy for the hosts to chase on Days 4 and 5. India fell short of the target while chasing in the first Test and the same was the case with England in the second and third Tests.

India would be hoping to wrap up England as early as possible because their batsmen have also struggled to play against the English spinners.