3rd Test Day 5 ENG beat IND by 266 runs

ENG 569-7d & 205-4d 

Ind 330 & 178

England ended a year-long wait for a Test win by wrapping up a 266-run victory over India in the third Test at Southampton.

After setting the tourists 445 to win, England took the six wickets required on the final day to bowl the tourists out for 178 and end a 10-match winless run.

Moeen Ali claimed his first Test-match five-wicket haul to finish with 6-47, while James Anderson picked up 2-24.

The result levels the five-match series at 1-1 going into the fourth Test at Old Trafford, which begins next Thursday.

The win also represents a personal triumph for home captain Alastair Cook, who had faced calls to quit after the second Test defeat at Lord's amid his own and his team's poor run of form.

Cook responded with 95 in the first innings and an unbeaten 70 in the second, while there were also strong showings from a trio of underperforming senior players - a century from Ian Bell and a combined 10 wickets for Anderson and Stuart Broad in the match.

Along with Joe Root, they are the only men who survive from England's previous win, which came in the fourth Test against Australia at Chester-le-Street in August 2013.

England's wait for a Test win since August 2013
5th Test v Aus (h) drawn	5th Test v Aus (a) lost by 281 runs
1st Test v Aus (a) lost by 381 runs	1st Test v SL (h) drawn
2nd Test v Aus (a) lost by 218 runs	2nd Test v SL (h) lost by 100 runs
3rd Test v Aus (a) lost by 150 runs	1st Test v India (h) drawn
4th Test v Aus (a) lost by 8 wkts	2nd Test v India (h) lost by 95 runs

While that victory sealed a third consecutive Ashes triumph for an experienced outfit accustomed to winning, this is a welcome success for a transitional team containing six members who had never been on the right end of a Test result.

Although the visitors been reduced to 112-4 last night, England might still have had concerns about India's long batting line-up - particularly as the home side themselves came within two balls of saving the second Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley in June after beginning the last day on 57-5.

But Anderson struck early to allay any fears, before Moeen took charge to spin England to victory.

Anderson faces an International Cricket Council hearing on Friday,where he will be banned for a minimum of two Tests if he is found guilty of pushing and verbally abusing India's Ravindra Jadeja during the first Test at Trent Bridge.

Swinging the ball at a full length, he provided a perfect illustration of the threat England would miss as, in the second over the day, he induced a thin edge from Rohit Sharma which was taken by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Four overs later, the Lancashire paceman produced an exact copy, which Mahendra Dhoni poked through to Buttler.

At the other end, Ajinkya Rahane was providing calm resistance to end unbeaten on 52, although he could do no more than look on as Moeen ran through the lower order.

Jadeja was bowled playing over a full delivery before, four balls on, Bhuvneshwar Kumar inside-edged on to his leg to be caught by Anderson, who had just been placed at gully.

Moeen, deceiving the tourists with variations of pace, length and flight, continued a remarkable spell of three wickets for one run in 12 balls by zipping one through the defence of Mohammed Shami.

England were briefly held up by the completion of Rahane's half-century and last man Pankaj Singh's slogging but, when Moeen skidded a straight one in to Pankaj's off stump, Cook and his men were able to celebrate victory for the first time in 354 days.

3rd Test Day 4 ENG 569/7d & 205/4d v IND 330 & 112/4

England moved closer to levelling the series against India with another dominant display on day four of the third Test in Southampton.

Chasing a notional 445 to win, the tourists were reduced to 112-4 at the close, with Moeen Ali taking two wickets and Joe Root one.

And England could have ended the day in an even stronger position had James Anderson clung on to a difficult return chance off Rohit Sharma, who remains on six, alongside Ajinkya Rahane (15).

Earlier, Anderson took two wickets in the morning session to finish with 5-53 as India were bowled out for 330, a first-innings deficit of 239.

England opted not to enforce the follow-on, coasting to 205-4 declared as Root smashed 56 from 41 balls and captain Alastair Cook confirmed his return to form with an unbeaten 70.

That left 42 overs remaining in the day - plus 90 on Thursday - for England to wipe out the 1-0 deficit established by their defeat in the second Test at Lord's.

And on a pitch increasingly showing signs of turn, England tore through the India top order with Moeen coming to the fore.

India had appeared to be successfully resisting the threat of the new ball when they presented a breakthrough to the home side.

Shikhar Dhawan called Murali Vijay through for a single and, with Vijay slow to set off, Stuart Broad swooped on the leg side to hit the stumps at the striker's end direct and leave Vijay just short of his ground.

In the next over, Moeen - who should have had Dhawan given out lbw - deceived Cheteshwar Pujara into edging towards slip, where Chris Jordan took an excellent one-handed catch, diving to his right.

Beautifully as Moeen was bowling, Cook's instinct was to call on part-time off-spinner Root, a decision that paid dividends when he turned one to take Dhawan's edge, Jordan holding another catch.

Another Cook bowling change was rewarded when Moeen returned to the attack and enticed Virat Kohli to poke through to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

The successful shuffling of his bowlers rounded off another good day for the England skipper, who, buoyed by his first-innings 95, batted with great freedom to anchor his side's second innings.

He had earlier decided not to enforce the follow-on, despite wrapping up India's first innings inside 20 minutes.

The tourists, resuming on 323-8, added only seven more runs as Anderson, on his 32nd birthday, produced two bouncers that Mahendra Dhoni and Mohammed Shami in turn gloved to Buttler, giving the paceman his 16th five-wicket haul in Tests.

If there were concerns among onlookers that England might linger over their second innings and delay their declaration too long, they were soon allayed by a scoring rate that rattled along at more than five an over.

Only Sam Robson, who edged a wonderful delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to first slip, failed to contribute as Gary Ballance, Ian Bell and Root played lively cameos around Cook.

Ballance was fluent for his 38 before wrongly been given out caught at short leg off Ravindra Jadeja, the second poor decision the left-hander has received in the match.

Bell busily reached 23 from 21 balls before being bowled sweeping Jadeja, while Root thrilled with his invention on the way to the fastest half-century of his Test career.

All the while, Cook repeatedly swept the spinners as he posted a second fifty in a single Test match for the first time in three years.

If Cook's poor form and a winless run of 10 Tests were the two major problems facing England before this match, one has been addressed and the other is six wickets away from being ended.

3rd Test Day 3 ENG 569/7d v IND 323/8

England's bowlers backed up the good work of their batsman to leave the hosts in a commanding position after three days of the third Test against India in Southampton.

India were reduced to 323-8, 246 behind England's total of 569-7 declared and 47 short of avoiding the follow-on.

In an improved display from the attack as a whole, Stuart Broad claimed three wickets, James Anderson added two to the one he took on day two and Moeen Ali two of his own.

Ajinkya Rahane, who should have been given out on eight, resisted for 54, while Mahendra Dhoni remained unbeaten on 50.

However, on a blameless pitch, India did little to help themselves, with all of the top order who batted on Tuesday falling after passing 20.

That is to take nothing away from an England bowling unit that has so often been below par this summer, none more so than in the second Test defeat at Lord's which handed the tourists a 1-0 series lead.

England's leading Test wicket-takers
383 - Ian Botham (1977-1992)	255 - Graeme Swann (2008-2013)
367 - James Anderson (2003-date)	255 - Stuart Broad (2007-date)
325 - Bob Willis (1971-1984)	252 - Brian Statham (1951-1965)
307 - Fred Trueman (1952-1965)	248 - Matthew Hoggard (2000-2008)
297 - Derek Underwood (1966-1982)	236 - Alec Bedser (1946-1955)

Bowling a consistent full length to find movement in the air and off the pitch, and sparingly using hostile short deliveries, Anderson, Broad and Chris Woakes impressed.

Spinner Moeen chipped in as Rohit Sharma (28) and Rahane gifted their wickets before tea, while only Chris Jordan was regularly wayward.

On a scorching day, there were periods that looked ominous for England as Murali Vijay (35), Virat Kohli (39), Rahane, Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja made accomplished starts.

Yet, through patient probing, the hosts were able to prise the regular wickets that leave them well placed to level the series.

It was Anderson, swinging the ball both ways, who struck to remove two important threats. The first came just after lunch when Kohli, who had classily moved to his highest score of the summer, succumbed to a probing line and edged to Alastair Cook at first slip.

And, later in the day, Anderson swung the second new ball into the pads of Jadeja to end a counter-attacking 31.

Broad, overlooked in favour of Woakes first up, eventually arrived to take two wickets in the morning session.

First, a bumper that followed Cheteshwar Pujara took a glove through to give Jos Buttler his first catch as a Test wicketkeeper.

Then Vijay, India's highest scorer of the series and again looking dangerous, attempted to leave an outswinger that hit the bat and bounced down on to the stumps.

Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan on BBC Test Match Special
"England bowled well, they bowled as a unit and asked questions of all the batsmen. India will be disappointed, not one batsman has scored with any substance. I'm sure Alastair Cook will think that whatever happens India will have to bat four sessions to save the match - they certainly won't win it."

Following Kohli's exit, Rahane, who survived gloving Moeen down the leg side to Buttler, scored heavily through the off side as he rebuilt in a stand of 74 with Sharma.

But both men would fall to the off-spinner in inexplicable fashion either side of tea.

Sharma, looking to repeat a hit down the ground, sliced horribly to Broad at mid-off.

And after the break, Moeen, who was warned by the International Cricket Council not to put on the pro-Gaza wristbands he wore on Monday, served up a long hop that Rahane toe-ended to mid-wicket.

At 217-6, India were exposed to the second new ball, only to be steadied by captain Dhoni and the dashing Jadeja.

That was until Anderson ended a partnership of 58 and, when Gary Ballance made up for dropping Bhuvneshwar Kumar at third slip off Broad by diving forward to take the same batsman off an inside edge, India were left further away from the follow-on mark.

Dhoni's continued presence means hope remains, while England may have to assess the fitness of their bowlers overnight to decide if it would be enforced.

Batting again could mean being without Ian Bell, who spent the majority of the day off the field with a thumb injury.

3rd Test Day 2 ENG 569/7d v IND 25/1

Ian Bell returned to form with a first hundred in almost a year as England dominated the second day of the third Test against India in Southampton.

Bell made 167, sharing century stands with Gary Ballance and debutant Jos Buttler, who dazzled on the way to 85 from 83 balls.

When Buttler fell, England declared on 569-7, leaving India 14 overs to bat at the end of the day.

In that time, James Anderson removed Shikhar Dhawan to leave the tourists 25-1 and in severe danger of surrendering the 1-0 series lead they earned with victory in the second Test at Lord's.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan on BBC Test Match Special
"It was going to be a matter of time before Jos Buttler played Test match cricket. What you see is a guy who reads the game really well. He needs a bit of time to get going, get his eye in and read the pace of the pitch. Over time, he is going to be an absolute match-winner in Tests and one-day cricket for England. When he gets in he is going to drive captains nuts. He's an exciting talent."

Bell, like England captain Alastair Cook, was badly in need of a score after passing 50 only four times in his previous 19 Test innings.

That lean spell, going back to his last century in the fourth Test of the 2013 Ashes, had yielded just 476 runs at an average of 26.44.

But, after Cook scored 95 on day one, Bell, who should have been given out lbw to Pankaj Singh on nought, cashed in to deliver a 21st Test ton.

Resuming on 16, the Warwickshire man scored all around the wicket on a good batting surface, showing deft touch to play his trademark late cut and dishing out some heavy treatment to Ravindra Jadeja.

Three times, he danced down the track to loft the left-arm spinner for a straight six, the second of which brought up his century.

Bell's fluency was matched in the morning session by Ballance, who moved his first-day hundred on to 156.

With the left-hander guiding to third man and clipping through the leg side, his dismissal came out of nothing in that it was both a surprise and a poor decision by umpire Rod Tucker.

Ballance was given out caught behind off Rohit Sharma when the ball had missed the bat and hit his back leg, with England gaining some consolation from the fact that the part-time off-spinner was able to find exaggerated turn and bounce.

India, using their pace trio of Pankaj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami in one-over spells, did check England with the wickets of Joe Root and Moeen Ali in the afternoon session.

Root, perhaps frustrated after scoring only three from 43 balls, advanced to edge Kumar behind, while Moeen again fell to the short ball, toe-ending a hook off the same bowler to second slip.

England's top Test runscorers
8,900 - Graham Gooch	8,114 - Geoff Boycott
8,463 - Alec Stewart	7,728 - Mike Atherton
8,257 - Alastair Cook	7,624 - Colin Cowdrey
8,231 - David Gower	7,249 - Wally Hammond
8,181 - Kevin Pietersen	7,068 - Ian Bell

The visitors will also feel that they should have had Buttler without scoring when the wicketkeeper, making his Test bow in place of Matt Prior, prodded Kumar to second slip.

With the ball going low to Ajinkya Rahane, the on-field umpires could not confirm it had carried and Buttler was reprieved when replays proved inconclusive.

He scored his first Test runs from the next delivery and, after tea, took advantage of being dropped on 23 by Dhawan at first slip off Shami, producing the sort of strokeplay that brought him the fastest ever one-day international hundred by an England batsman against Sri Lanka in May.

Following Bell's example by hitting Jadeja straight, Buttler also reverse-swept the spinner for four on the way to a maiden half-century.

After Bell holed out to mid-on off Kumar, Buttler opened his shoulders and received yet another let-off when Mahendra Dhoni missed a simple stumping off Jadeja. Twice Pankaj was belted for six to raise hopes of a debut hundred.

But a slog at Jadeja was edged onto the stumps, immediately prompting Cook to declare and leaving the India openers the task of repelling the new ball in the gathering gloom.

It was one that was beyond them as Anderson, from round the wicket, produced a beauty that had Dhawan fencing to Cook at first slip.

2nd Test Day 5 SA 282 & 159/8 drew with SL 421 & 229/8d

Sri Lanka 421 (Jayawardene 165, Dickwella 72, Mathews 63) and 229 for 8 dec (Sangakkara 72, Mathews 63*, Morkel 4-45) drew with South Africa 282 (Amla 139, Perera 5-69, Herath 4-71) and 159 for 8 (Herath 5-40, Perera 3-60)

After a riveting, un-Youtubeable day of cricket, South Africa are back at the top of the Test rankings. The settings were dramatic - leaden skies for most of the day, four or more men poised round the bat, the indefatigable spinners rifling through their overs and some of the world's most flamboyant batsmen in the middle.

And the batsmen deadbatted virtually everything to hang on for the draw that they were seemingly aiming for since midway through the second day. 

A few-minutes-long clip can't capture the technique, temperament and concentration needed to survive against a misbehaving ball on a raging turner or the feeling that every delivery could transform the game. Edges, noisy appeals and getting beaten are unavoidable even for the very best batsmen, but those can't be allowed to shake your focus.

On a day when South African fans prayed more for rain than for runs, the rain intermittently interrupted play but Sri Lanka still wheeled in 94 overs. 

South Africa ended on 159 for 8 in 111 overs - their slowest effort this century, slower even than the great escapes in Johannesburg and Adelaide. It was also their first Test series win in Sri Lanka since 1993, extended their incredible eight-year unbeaten run on the road, and made light of the recent loss of two giants in Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.

At tea, Sri Lanka had taken only four wickets and those consummate match-savers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, were in the middle. 

In the space of five overs, though, both were dismissed to slip catches by Mahela Jayawardene - who became the third to 200 Test catches - and Sri Lanka's spirits were further lifted as the grey skies changed to mostly blue. Umbrellas that young fans had been using to keep out the rain, were now being used to keep out the sunshine.

That left JP Duminy and the tail more than two hours to survive. Two hours for the Sri Lanka spinners to mop up the innings. In the first innings, Duminy had blotted out 58 deliveries to score 3; this time he took 65 deliveries to score 3. Vernon Philander showed the ability that has helped him bat 337 deliveries in his previous four innings, and with short bursts of rain eating up another 25 minutes, South Africa were breathing easier.

About 75 minutes remained when the players returned, and Duminy fell just as the final hour began - late in bringing down the bat against Dilruwan Perera. The anxiety levels shot up further for South Africa when Dale Steyn attempted an extravagant against-the-turn cover drive on his first ball.

With Ajantha Mendis showing no rhythm, Angelo Mathews not bowling, and the only specialist quick, Suranga Lakmal, hardly used, Sri Lanka were essentially down to a two-man attack of Rangana Herath and Perera. Mendis sent down only 13 overs in the final innings, more than 30 less than Herath and Perera each did. Herath has bowled 172 overs in the series, Perera 158.3, and they wheeled away tirelessly on the final day as well.

In the final hour, Sri Lanka frequently had all their fielders round the bat - a six-man catching crowd on the off side, and three lurking on the leg side. 

The appeals were becoming desperate, wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella getting on bended knee as he pleaded with the umpires, when Herath produced the breakthrough, getting Steyn to nick to the keeper.

Imran Tahir had whacked his helmet with his bat in frustration after being dismissed in the first innings. He had drawn a somewhat similar reaction from South Africa fans with his wayward bowling this series, but called on to block out the final half hour, he delivered.

With Philander calmly tapping everything away, and Tahir defending with exaggerated caution - the ball barely rolled a foot away after one of his crouching forward defensives - time began to run out for Sri Lanka. 

Suddenly South Africa's batsmen were calling for a change of gloves, a drink or anything the 12th man could run out to deliver and eat up precious minutes.

It came down to the final over, and the tension was so unbearable that Quinton de Kock pulled the top of his shirt over his head in the dressing room to avoid having to watch. 

Tahir, who was cramping badly, was lying prone on the ground - prompting remarks about footballers faking injury - but once he was back on his feet, an unflustered Philander kept out the six balls from Herath, tucked his bat under his arm and walked off. This is the third time in four Tests that it was a final-over finish for Sri Lanka - they came out on top in both games in England, but there was no joy this time.

They were undone by a team effort from South Africa, with not a single wicket going down to a rash stroke or a rush of blood. Amla was the stand-out batsman, but almost all the others also stuck around for at least an hour as their technique was rigorously examined by Herath and Perera. Herath was so precise that in his 27 overs before tea, the batsmen could leave alone only 10 deliveries while Perera kept tossing the ball up, and was unerringly accurate.

South Africa got an early indication of what to expect when Dean Elgar lost his offstump to a delivery that spun sharply across the stumps. Quinton de Kock was the most positive of the batsmen, but he had several leading edges as he looked to work plenty of deliveries to leg. He finally perished, caught at backward short leg for a relatively brisk 37.

That brought together South Africa's two best batsmen, Amla and AB de Villiers. Sri Lanka used up both their DRS appeals on de Villiers, once when he was yards out of the crease and the ball nowhere near the bat, and another in the 58th over when he survived a close lbw call. Amla hit two early boundaries, and then played out 57 successive dot balls. 

He was dropped by Angelo Mathews at gully in the 49th over, and was troubled by his hamstring, but nothing shook him out of his thou-shalt-not-pass approach.

Sri Lanka's fielders were quietened as the partnership stretched towards 25 overs, before Herath produced a ripper that drifted in and spun away to take de Villiers' off stump. 

Du Plessis survived a first-ball lbw through the DRS, and Amla was reprieved soon after tea when a certain lbw was turned down. Fortune seemed on South Africa's side, but there was to be no cruise to the finish line, as Herath removed both batsmen to set up a nerve-shredding finale.

A Test which began with a manic first session where runs were scored at 4.42 runs an over, ended with a session in which runs were scored at 1.38 an over. 

3rd Test Day 1 ENG 247/2 v IND Stumps

Alastair Cook fell agonisingly short of a first Test hundred in 14 months as England controlled the first day of the third Test against India at Southampton.

The England captain seemed set to end his 27-innings wait for a century when he edged a Ravindra Jadeja long-hop down the leg side to wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni to depart for 95.

That ended a stand of 158 with Gary Ballance, who moved to his third ton in five Tests to lead England to 247-2.

While Ballance was the centurion, the day revolved around Cook, whose barren run had mirrored the poor form of his side and led to the likes of former England captains Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott, Mike Atherton and Kevin Pietersen to call for him to resign.

Cook, whose previous 27 innings had yielded only 638 runs at an average of 23.62, has repeatedly claimed he will not quit,despite presiding over a 10-match winless run.

And this knock will go some way to ending any doubt over his immediate future, with two more matches against India coming before England have an eight-month break from Test cricket.

For so long, the left-hander was on course for three figures, capitalising on being dropped on 15 to look more assured at the crease than at any point this summer.

Even though both the pitch and overhead conditions suggested the morning would be good for pace bowling, Cook opted to bat on winning the toss and was helped by the tourists' inaccuracy with the new ball.

Though he was leaving well, Cook, who edged the very first ball of the match short of the slips, was tempted into a familiar poke at debutant Pankaj Singh, in for the injured Ishant Sharma.

But, where those chances had previously been taken during his lean spell, Cook may have felt his fortunes had changed when Jadeja dropped a straightforward chance at third slip, a feeling that perhaps grew when the same man took a similar chance off the bowling of Mohammed Shami to dismiss Sam Robson for 26.

Despite losing his opening partner, Cook was growing in stature, cutting and pulling when India dropped short.

A hook off Shami took him to a first half-century in 10 innings, while the Essex opener also went past Kevin Pietersen and David Gower to third on the all-time list of England runscorers in Test cricket.

Highest England runscorers in Test cricket
8,900 - Graham Gooch (118 Tests, 1975-95)
8,463 - Alec Stewart (133 Tests, 1990-2003)
8,257 - Alastair Cook (107 Tests, 2006-date)
8,231 - David Gower (117 Tests, 1978-92)
8,181 - Kevin Pietersen (104 Tests, 2005-14)
8,114 - Geoff Boycott (108 Tests, 1964-82)

Not looking to score on the front foot through the off side, Cook moved into the 90s with another pull off Shami.

When Jadeja delivered an awful ball that pitched halfway down the pitch, Cook was primed to move closer to three figures. However, he under-edged a pull through to Dhoni and was sent on his way.

That left Ballance, strong on the cut but also driving on both sides of the wicket, the challenge of completing his third Test hundred while at the same time seeing off the second new ball.

He reached three figures by guiding Shami to the third man boundary, ending the day on 104 in the company of Ian Bell, who should have been given out lbw to Pankaj when on nought.

Though Pankaj impressed, both Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were below the standards they set in the first two Tests, in which India earned a 1-0 series lead.

With all-rounder Stuart Binny left out in favour of batsman Rohit Sharma, Dhoni had to turn to the part-time spin of Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan as the pitch became ideal for batting after the threat of the new ball was negotiated.

Cook, who has Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes in his attack in place of Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett, has the challenge of finding the right tactics to take India wickets to come.

For now, though, the pressure on the captain's batting has been eased.

2nd Test Day 4 SL 421 & 229/8d v SA 282 & 38/1 (target 369)

South Africa 282 and 38 for 1 need another 331 runs to beat Sri Lanka 421 and 229 for 8 dec (Sangakkara 72, Mathews 63*, Morkel 4-45)

Sri Lanka had one objective when the day began: score as quickly as possible and declare. They did exactly that as they rattled along at well above four runs an over - more than double what South Africa managed in the first innings - to swell the lead to 368, despite more than an hour being lost due to rain and bad light. 

In Galle, Sri Lanka had to chase 370 in 120 overs, while here they have a whole day to wheedle out the remaining nine wickets.

Yet again, Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews formed the bedrock of Sri Lanka's effort, with both making brisk half-centuries to extend their purple patches.

With South Africa having turned this game into a long slog for survival, their objective when the day began was to keep the run-rate down. Getting wickets was good, but not good enough if the Sri Lankan run-rate wasn't reined in. 

The longer Sri Lanka were out there before declaring or being bowled out, the shorter South Africa's batsmen would have to persevere. They hung around for more than four sessions in the first innings, but on a track that has worn down significantly more, it will be miraculous if they last nearly that long in the second.

Sri Lanka knew it as well, and began the morning with a bunch of boundaries. Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander leaked 27 runs in the first four overs before restoring a semblance of control. Upul Tharanga eased the first ball of the day to the long-off boundary, and did the bulk of the early scoring before nicking one through to the keeper on 30.

A Morne Morkel slower ball accounted for the other opener, Kaushal Silva, and Imran Tahir had a reverse-sweeping Mahela Jayawardene dismissed for a rare duck at the SSC. That brought together Sangakkara and Mathews, who rushed the score along.

They were held back for an hour by the rain as the threatening clouds finally opened up at lunch. Every minute lost was a minute less for South Africa to survive, but once play resumed they were reminded of the troubles ahead.

Tahir, as usual, offered loads of full tosses, and when one of them was put away to fine leg by Sangakkara, it brought up his tenth 50-plus score of the year and highlighted how far away South Africa are from solving their spin problem. 

The next ball pointed out a more immediate worry. Tahir got the ball to explode off the rough, unsettling even the well-set Sangakkara. Given how accurate Herath is, that rough outside the left-hander's offstump is going to be regularly hit before the end of this game, and every time South Africa's batsmen are likely to be guessing what the ball will do.

Though bad light stopped play well ahead of the allowed close, South Africa's batsmen were given a clear idea of what to expect on the final day. 

For only the second time in their Test history, Sri Lanka opened with two spinners. Herath and Dilruwan Perera had the ball spinning and leaping, there were edges aplenty before Alviro Petersen popped a catch to silly point.

Dean Elgar was hit in the box by a ball that ripped in off the rough, the promoted Quinton de Kock was bemused when a delivery from Perera sharply changed direction outside off. De Kock decided the way to counter the situation was to play his strokes, unlike every South African batsman in this match, and finished the day on 21 off 31.

South Africa can draw major confidence from Johannesburg 2013 and Adelaide 2012 but neither of those great escapes came on tracks as hostile as the one they face tomorrow. If South Africa do survive, they would have truly earned that No. 1 ranking. 

2nd Test Day 3 SL 421 & 11/0 v SA 282

Sri Lanka 421 and 11 for 0 lead South Africa 282 (Amla 139*, Perera 5-69, Herath 4-71) by 150 runs

South Africa need only a draw at the SSC to regain the coveted No. 1 Test ranking and they batted as if that was their sole objective. Since the start of the innings midway through the second day, their batsmen have only been bothered about consuming time, deeming run-scoring as an unnecessary frivolity. 

Hashim Amla ground his way to his 22nd Test century, the first by a South African captain in Sri Lanka, and the second slowest of his career to avert the follow-on but not a 139-run first-innings deficit.

The other batsmen didn't have the runs to match the amounts of time they spent in the middle which meant that Sri Lanka's spinners were never put under pressure and were allowed to wheel away accurate over after accurate over. 

The pitch was no minefield, which made the South African strategy even harder to comprehend. There was turn, but nothing alarming. There were no grubbers or high-jumpers. And South Africa have some of the world's best batsmen against spin.

JP Duminy's 58-ball 3 was the South African innings in microcosm. He wasn't scoring runs, but he wasn't getting beaten, nor was he in serious trouble. There was a severe lack of intent though as he blocked or padded away everything that he could. He played 49 consecutive dot balls, before finally missing one and was stumped after the ball deflected off his pad.

The day began with Sri Lanka using their only quick to bounce the batsmen from round the wicket, not a tactic that flustered the overnight pair of Amla and AB de Villiers much. Suranga Lakmal overstepped regularly as well and was struck for three fours in an over by de Villiers. 

That made it five boundaries in seven deliveries as Amla had just put away a wayward Ajantha Mendis for a couple of fours. After dead-batting almost everything on Friday, South Africa started the day with more vigour.

However, once Sri Lanka decided to give their two best bowlers, Dilruwan Perera and Rangana Herath, extended spells, the scoring rate went comatose again. 

South Africa had only made 14 runs in nine overs before Perera made the breakthroughs that derailed them.

Perera isn't a big turner of the ball, but he got it to spin just enough to beat the inside edge as de Villiers looked to defend and got him lbw. 

Two balls later, he got one to spin just enough again to beat the outside edge of the left-handed Quinton de Kock and take the off stump. In a matter of minutes, South Africa had squandered what they gained over hours of attritional cricket.

In football, all-out defence is seen as a safe strategy. Here, South Africa's all-out defence is a high-risk tactic as that Perera over showed.

Still, Amla persevered, solid as ever. 

He unveiled some breathtaking inside-out drives against the spinners, typical whiplash punches off Lakmal, got both pads in front of the stumps to make an impassable wall if the ball pitched outside leg, and generally hanging on the back foot and trusting himself to adjust well enough to keep out any danger.

It was a monumental effort from him, the sixth longest by an overseas batsman in Sri Lanka and he remained unconquered after facing 382 deliveries. He has consumed more than 350 deliveries in an innings five times, and he has remained unbeaten on all those occasions.

For a while, it looked as if South Africa might struggle to avoid the follow-on, even with Amla going strong. 

Their cricketing catenaccio strategy would have been a complete failure if they had been forced to bat again. 

That didn't come to pass, though, as the tail gamely supported Amla. Dale Steyn took up 71 deliveries before holing out going for a third six, Imran Tahir used up an hour after tea before South Africa were bowled out near the close of play.

Though Sri Lanka have a sizeable lead, one concern for them is the workload of their main spinners, Herath and Perera. Both have already bowled more than 40 overs in the match, after sharing more than 150 overs in Galle. 

Mendis is the third specialist spinner but he struggled for line and length, forcing Mathews to give him only short spells. Sri Lanka will need more from him as they press for a series-levelling win over the next two days. 

2nd Test Day 2 SL 421 V SA 98/3

South Africa 98 for 3 (Amla 46*) trail Sri Lanka 421 (Jayawardene 165, Dickwella 72, Mathews 63) by 323 runs

Flattest track in the world, eh? Ask the South Africa batsmen. They started to bat at the SSC midway through the second session of the second day, and during the 52 overs till stumps the run-rate never crossed two.

Sri Lanka's trio of spinners teased and probed, Suranga Lakmal extracted some reverse swing, and the bad balls were virtually non-existent.

Rangana Herath needed five balls to get his first wicket. 

Offspinner Dilruwan Perera needed only three. If South Africa's batsmen did not already know they were in for a thorough interrogation of their technique against spin, the first hour of their innings made it absolutely clear.

Like Sri Lanka on Thursday, South Africa lost lost two wickets early. Sri Lanka had responded by caning the spinners to the tune of 4.86 an over during a 99-run stand between Mahela Jayawardene and Kaushal Silva. 

There was no similar response from South Africa after their lost their openers early - Alviro Petersen to a soft caught-and-bowler and Dean Elgar bat-pad. Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla showed immense concentration and patience as they ground out 58 runs in nearly 30 overs.

There wasn't massive turn yet from the track, but Sri Lanka could turn to a variety of spinners who posed different challenges. Left-arm spinner Herath got the new ball and tested out the rough against the left-hand batsmen. 

Perera bowled conventional offspin with a pleasingly conventional action and should have had Amla caught-behind in the 26th over, only for the debutant keeper Niroshan Dickwella to miss a tough chance. 

Ajantha Mendis, playing only his third Test in more than three years, didn't have the same accuracy as the other two but his variations were enough to keep the batsmen guessing. Sri Lanka could even call on the part-time legspin of Kithuruwan Vithanage - he got some turn and several leading edges.

It was finally Lakmal who ended the du Plessis-Amla stand, though, when Dickwella took a superb one-handed catch diving to his left to send back du Plessis for 36.

South Africa still have their two best batsmen in the middle, but after 52 overs of bloody-minded resistance, they are still only 98 for 3. At the same stage, Sri Lanka were 205 for 3. What that punishing pace of scoring from Sri Lanka has done is allow them plenty of time to grill South Africa.

Sri Lanka maintained a similarly cavalier rate of scoring in the morning. 

Dickwella, who was in England earlier this week with the A side and not even in the Test squad, struck an enterprising debut half-century that drove Sri Lanka past 400. 

He is a schoolboy star like the man with whom he put on a century stand - Mahela Jayawardene - to ensure the first day's advantage was not squandered.

Jayawardene began the day unbeaten on 140 at his favourite ground, and Dickwella was in his first Test innings facing the pace of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, but it was the youngster who dominated the opening hour.

There were plenty of signs of his confidence on the big stage. In the 97th over, he played a deliberate upper cut over slips off Morne Morkel on seeing that third man was square. The next delivery was tucked to the fine-leg boundary. 

As Dickwella ambled down the track keeping his eye on the ball, he bumped into Morkel, who responded with a shove. Dickwella doesn't even reach shoulder high for the towering Morkel, but his concentration didn't waver even after that encounter.

He skipped down the track to launch Vernon Philander over mid-on, and a delivery after Imran Tahir got the ball to rip from the rough, Dickwella countered with the reverse-sweep.

At the other end, Jayawardene was continuing with his silken batting - the blade barely passed the vertical as he coaxed a full ball from Steyn to the long-on boundary. Fifty-six runs came in the first hour, and South African spirits were beginning to sag.

As has been the case so often, South Africa got a lift with an outstanding bit of fielding. Petersen fired in a direct hit from fine leg to catch Jayawardene short on 165. A stylish innings ended with Jayawardene on his knees and desperately scrambling to complete the second.

That wicket seemed to affect Dickwella; he went loose outside off, repeatedly chasing wide deliveries. He survived till lunch, though, but after the break South Africa mopped up the tail quickly to end Sri Lanka's innings at 421. 

Tahir ended a 315-ball wait for a Test wicket by getting Perera to clip a ball to wide mid-on, Dickwella was run-out by Quinton de Kock while attempting a leg-bye and Philander soon had reward for his consistent bowling.

That only set the stage for a harrowing examination against spin. Three more days of that stand between South Africa and the No. 1 ranking. 

4th ODI Afghanistan v Zimbabwe

Afghanistan 259 (Shafiqullah 56, Shenwari 40, Tiripano 5-63) beat Zimbabwe 159 (Mutumbami 64, Sharafuddin 3-29) by 100 runs

After losing the first two games, Afghanistan had their backs to the wall, needing nothing less than wins from their two remaining games to show what they were made of. After scraping through on Tuesday by two wickets, they trounced Zimbabwe by 100 runs, thanks to their seamers who looked primed to take the game after reducing the hosts to 29 for 6 in pursuit of 260. This was Afghanistan's first drawn ODI series against a Full Member.

The trouble began in the sixth over when Regis Chakabva fell to Aftab Alam for 9, before Brendan Taylor departed the following over flicking Mohammad Nabi to cow corner. The run out of Sean Williams unsettled them further and in the following over, Dawlat Zadran struck twice, bowling the in-form Sikander Raza and taking a return catch to get rid of Elton Chigumbura. 

Three balls later, Mirwais Ashraf trapped Malcolm Waller lbw, walking across the stumps. The hosts were reeling at 29 for 6 and the task ahead of the debutant wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami was not just survival but to match the required run rate, that had already passed six.

After a quiet beginning, Mutumbami opened up when he went down the track to Mirwais. Mutumbami and Maruma batted positively, with the former scoring at nearly a run a ball. Though Afghanistan still held the edge, once the stand passed 50 and edged closer to a century, there was a glimmer of hope for the Zimbabweans.

The pair batted together for nearly 20 overs and had added 97 before the left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf struck, trapping Maruma lbw on the sweep. 

The sweep led to Mutumbami's downfall as well as he only managed a top edge off Sharafuddin and was caught by the wicketkeeper. The match predictably ended soon after Zimbabwe's highest scorer departed and in the 38th over, Aftab Alam sealed the win by bowling Donald Tiripano.

It was a memorable game with the ball for Tiripano, though, as he picked up his maiden five-for in ODIs. The right-arm seamer sent back the openers by the eighth over, before taking three lower-order wickets. 

A fourth-wicket stand of 64 between Nasir Jamal and Samiullah Shenwari stabilised Afghanistan. Jamal batted patiently, scoring only two fours in his 39 before he was run out. When Shenwari departed four overs later, the visitors were in need of a rebuild at 146 for 5.

The recovery came via Nabi and wicketkeeper Shafiqullah, who added 72 in just 8.5 overs. Shafiqullah's 56 off 43 balls gave Afghanistan the impetus as they headed towards 250. 

He launched Tiripano for two sixes before the bowler had the last laugh, getting him caught at short third man. He finished with 5 for 63 to bowl out the visitors with five balls to spare, but 259 turned out to be more than sufficient. 

2nd Test Day 1 SL (305/5) v SA

Sri Lanka 305 for 5 (Jayawardene 140*, Mathews 63) v South Africa

The last time Mahela Jayawardene batted against South Africa in a Test at the SSC, he made 374, the highest score ever made by a right-handed batsman in Test cricket. 

Today he walked off to applause for an unbeaten 140 as his 34th Test century held together Sri Lanka's innings after Angelo Mathews won the toss on what looks another SSC batting beauty. It was his 11th Test hundred at his home venue - as many as the likes of Saeed Anwar, Ravi Shastri, Nathan Astle and Dean Jones each managed over their entire Test careers - and extended his lead at the top of the list for most Test runs scored at a single venue.

With Jayawardene passing 5000 first-class runs at the SSC, it might seem like it was business as usual, but it was anything but in the morning session. 

The peculiar sights early on included an elderly man in the stands keeping cool with a tiny portable fan on his chest, the run-machine Kumar Sangakkara getting a golden duck at a ground he thrives on, the South Africa slip cordon putting down two fairly straightforward chances and Sri Lanka motoring along at well above six an over for a big chunk of the first session of the Test.

What was not unexpected in the first session was Dale Steyn again showing he can cause damage on any surface in the world, whether a minefield or a highway. He banged it in in the fifth over had Upul Tharanga fending a catch to the keeper.

Steyn followed that up with another short ball to Sangakkara, who responded with a weak pull straight to Imran Tahir at square leg. Sangakkara walked off practising the pull, much like several England batsmen on the final day at Lord's earlier this week.

With Vernon Philander relentlessly probing around off stump, Sri Lanka looked shaky. Kaushal Silva was dropped at third slip off Philander by Alviro Petersen and Jayawardene's start-stop approach for a single at cover almost resulted in Silva's run-out.

Steyn got only a four-over spell with the new ball though, and once Philander's fruitless first stint was over, Sri Lanka cashed in against the spinners. 

The SSC is a track where batsmen are advised to give the first session to the bowlers, and then capitalise on the flatness of the surface. Jayawardene and Silva didn't have to wait that long. The boundaries were incessant, as full tosses were swatted to midwicket, full balls were driven away. Fifty-runs came in eight overs, and the early pressure had evaporated.

Silva had a reprieve early on against Duminy, when his edge whizzed past the stationary AB de Villiers at first slip. With minutes to go before lunch, Silva gave de Villiers another chance, and this time his streaky innings was over.

Another quick wicket, and South Africa would have had a crack at Sri Lanka's inexperienced lower-middle order. With Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, two youngsters in whom Sri Lanka had placed immense amount of faith, dropped, the batsmen to follow were Kithuruwan Vithanage and debutant Niroshan Dickwella. 

That breakthrough didn't arrive though, as Jayawardene and the in-form Angelo Mathews put on a century stand.

They took no risks, but still scored at a brisk pace, latching on to the regular bad ball. The closest South Africa came to a wicket in the second session was when an off-balance de Villiers couldn't fire in a direct hit just before drinks. 

The session ended with Jayawardene top-edging a boundary to fine leg to bring up his hundred, one of the rare false strokes in a typically polished innings, where he once again demonstrated the value of timing, touch and placement. A nonchalant upper cut over the slips off Morne Morkel was among the highlights of his innings.

Mathews picked up most of his runs with drives and nudges to the leg side, though he also pounced on the many short and wide deliveries on offer, crashing them past point. 

With the attack fading, Mathews went for one more cut when Duminy dropped short, only to edge through to the keeper. Once again the part-time offspinner had delivered an unexpected breakthrough for South Africa.

Sri Lanka have picked three specialists spinners, clearly expecting plenty of turn as the match progresses, but South Africa's lone specialist spinner had another rough outing. 

The number of poor deliveries Tahir bowled - either half-trackers or loopy full tosses - were too many to be excused as the usual difficulty legspinners have in controlling the ball. South Africa need him to lift his game in the second innings, when the surface will have more in it for him.

It was the quicks who caused trouble towards the end of the day, with Vithanage stuttering against a short-ball barrage from Steyn before being undone by a bouncer from Morne Morkel. Dickwella faced a testing time before stumps, but he survived with the help of the DRS.

Sri Lanka's batsmen still have work to do on the second day, but who better to bank on at the SSC than Jayawardene? 

3rd ODI Afghanistan 264/8 v Zimbabwe 261/8 AFG win by 2 wkts

Afghanistan 264 for 8 (Ahmadi 56) beat Zimbabwe 261 for 8 (H Masakadza 84, Taylor 53) by 2 wickets

Afghanistan kept the four-match series alive with a win in the tightly-contested third ODI in Bulawayo. None of their bowlers took more than two wickets and only one of their batsmen got to a fifty - Javed Ahmadi with 56 - but they still overpowered Zimbabwe by two wickets, in a chase of 262, with two balls to spare. That brought the series scoreline to 2-1, in favour of the hosts, with one to play.

Zimbabwe were inserted and were provided a solid platform by Hamilton Masakadza - who top scored with 84 - and captain Brendan Taylor, who added 109 at five an over after Sikandar Raza was out cheaply. Sean Williams, batting at No. 4, also contributed to the cause with a brisk 49, but a flurry of wickets in the final six meant they finished with a slightly under-par 261 for 8. Medium pacer Aftab Alam was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, picking up two wickets in a tidy spell.

Afghanistan's chase was off to an ideal start, with the openers, Usman Ghani and Ahmadi, adding 83 at over a run a ball. A duck followed for No. 3 Noor Ali Zadran, though, with Ahmadi falling not long after to make it 112 for 3 in 20. 

While Nasir Jamal and Samiullah Shenwari ensured no collapse ensued, their 54-run stand used up 14 overs, meaning the lower order was faced with a very stiff asking rate towards the end. Captain Mohammad Nabi launched the late charge with 42 off 40 before being run out after consecutive sixes off part-timer Raza.

If Zimbabwe thought that was the end of things, they didn't do so for long: No. 9 Dawlat Zadran blocked the first ball he faced, and slammed two sixes off the next two deliveries in the same Raza over. He proved to be the fatal thorn in Zimbabwe's side, striking two more sixes to tilt the thriller in Afghanistan's favour. 

The last of those big blows came in the final over, when his side needed four off three. Afghanistan will need a similar team performance if they are to tie the series in the final ODI, which is scheduled for July 24. 

2nd Test ENG 319 & 223 lost to IND 295 & 342 by 95 runs

England slipped to a 95-run Test defeat at the hands of India at Lord's this afternoon.

The hosts returned to the crease at the start of day five earlier today on 105-4, which left them requiring 214 runs for victory.

It appeared that Joe Root and Moeen Ali had frustrated the Indian bowling attack going into lunch, but with the final ball before the break, Ali gloved a bouncer from Ishant Sharma into the hands of Cheteshwar Pujara at fine leg for 39, which brought Matt Prior to the crease after the restart.

The wicketkeeper made a quickfire 12, but he then found Murali Vijay towards the leg-side boundary following another bouncer from Sharma.

Twenty-five-year-old Sharma then accounted for the wickets of Root (66), Ben Stokes (0) and Stuart Broad (8) in quick succession, which made him the first Indian bowler to have achieved a seven-wicket haul at an English ground.

It also left England on the cusp of defeat and when James Anderson attempted a quick run, only to be sent back by Liam Plunkett up the other end, there was too much ground to make up and he was run out by Ravindra Jadeja, which wrapped up the victory for the Indians.

India, who had not won at Lord's since 1986, now lead the five-match Test series 1-0, with three encounters left to play.

2nd ODI Afghanistan v Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe 257 for 2 (Raza 141, Masakadza 93) beat Afghanistan 256 for 7 (Ghani 118, Raza 2-25) by eight wickets

Sikandar Raza's maiden ODI century helped Zimbabwe crush Afghanistan by eight wickets and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. Raza's blistering 133-ball 141 that was laced with seven sixes and 11 fours also completely overshadowed a landmark reached by Afghanistan's 17-year-old opener Usman Ghani, who also hit a maiden ton.

For the second match in a row, Zimbabwe opted to field but were set up a slightly difficult target of 257 compared to the first ODI. 

With no Vusi Sibanda, Raza opened the batting with Hamilton Masakadza and set the tone of the innings with a boundary of the first ball of the second over. He bettered it in the third over with consecutive fours of Shapoor Zadran's first two deliveries before ramping the scoring rate from the ninth over onwards. 

Zimbabwe had moved to 42 from the first eight but Raza smashed Dawlat Zadran for two sixes and a four in an over that leaked 21 runs. He slowed down a touch thereafter, reaching his half-century 54 balls.

Raza scored the next fifty off 45 balls to reach his maiden century in the 31st over. 

Masakadza, meanwhile, had also patiently added 83 runs off 93 balls to help the team motor to 192 without loss. Two boundaries in the next over from Raza took Zimbabwe past 200 - the first double-century opening-stand for Zimbabwe. 

By the time Masakadza was dismissed, seven short of his century, the stand had swelled to 224 - the best for any wicket for Zimbabwe. The home side continued to saunter and overhauled the target with more than six overs to spare, the only blip being the loss of Raza a ball before the win was achieved.

Earlier, Ghani had single-handedly shored up Afghanistan's innings with a mature innings. He received repeated support from the other batsmen but none lasted long enough with him to threaten Zimbabwe. 

Take out Ghani's 118 off 143 deliveries - the joint equal for the highest score by an Afghanistan batsman - and the highest individual score was Gulbadin Naib's 23. Raza was successful with the ball too, picking up two crucial wickets in his five-over spell. 

2nd Test Day 4 ENG 319 & 105/4 v IND 295 & 342 (target 319)

A superb performance with bat and ball put India on the threshold of victory over England in the second Test at Lord's.

Murali Vijay hit 95, Ravi Jadeja a swashbuckling 68 off 57 balls and Bhuvneshwar Kumar 52 to help the tourists progress quickly from their overnight 169-4 to 342 all out.

Set 319 to win, England lost three wickets for two runs, including beleaguered captain Alastair Cook for 22, to end the day staring into the abyss on 105-4.

Defeat on Monday would put England 1-0 down in the series with three matches to play and extend their winless run to 10 Tests.

It was a riveting day of cricket in which England gave themselves openings, only for India to return their efforts with interest.

Ex-England batsman Geoffrey Boycott on Test Match Special
"Alastair Cook was doing OK, but he was doing alright in the first innings until he got out. He can't totally eradicate his faults. The selectors are all hoping he gets a fifty but it's not happening for him and it might be even worse for him tomorrow if England lose."

After three wickets in the morning session had reduced India to 235-7, Jadeja tore into James Anderson and Stuart Broad in a counter-attacking eighth-wicket stand of 99 with Kumar in 16.3 overs either side of lunch.

Late in the day, after the inspired Jadeja had dismissed Sam Robson with his first delivery, Cook and Gary Ballance steered England to 70-1.

But their 58-run partnership was broken when Ballance nicked Mohammed Shami behind, and the out-of-form Ian Bell played inside a ball from Ishant Sharma that held its line down the slope and was bowled.

Amid almost unbearable tension, Cook lasted 93 balls of mostly dogged defence before he was tempted into playing at a ball from Sharma and edged to wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni.

It extended his run without a century to 27 innings and left England staring at defeat.

Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan on Test Match Special
"England keep having spells where they get on top and then let the opposition back into the game. If we're honest, England are losing the key moments. You don't generally win matches in Test cricket if you drop chances and bowl too short on pitches offering so much help."

On a pitch taking spin, Moeen Ali survived a dropped catch and two huge lbw shouts to finish 15 not out, alongside Joe Root, who has 14.

After resuming on 169-4, India sprinted out of the blocks with 12 runs off the first over, but England pegged them back with two quick wickets.

Liam Plunkett, who revived England's challenge with two scalps in two balls on Saturday evening, had captain Dhoni poking at a full ball and Bell took a sharp catch above his shoulder at second slip.

Moments later, Stuart Binny was lured into an early slog at Moeen. Cook, sprinting back from mid-off, clung on to a fine running catch in front of the pavilion.

Vijay was out in the third over with the second new ball five runs short of his second century of the series when he nicked a ball from an otherwise out-of-sorts Anderson through to Matt Prior.

Jadeja, the villain of the English crowd because of his allegation that he was pushed and verbally abused by James Anderson at Trent Bridge, thrilled a large India-supporting contingent with a scintillating innings.

England v India 2014 Test series
First Test	9-13 July	Trent Bridge	Drawn
Second Test	17-21 July	Lord's
Third Test	27-31 July	Rose Bowl
Fourth Test	7-11 August	Old Trafford
Fifth Test	15-19 August	The Oval

Darting out of his crease, he turned a regulation Anderson delivery into a half-volley and clattered it through the covers before crashing Broad over his head for a one-bounce four. Five more fours followed as he brought up his fifty off 42 balls.

Kumar was given a reprieve on two when he was put down by Root, who was standing very close at fourth slip and could only parry the ball as it flashed above his head.

It was a costly error as Kumar continued a dazzling series with bat and ball by becoming only the third player to score a half-century and five wickets in successive Test matches after Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee.

Jadeja's scintillating innings finally ended when he top-edged a pull shot at Ben Stokes and Cook took another skier.

India's last two wickets followed quickly as Mohammed Shami feathered Moeen behind and Stokes had Kumar caught in the slips - but from an England perspective the damage had been done.