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The Indian bowlers had a wonderful start to the day three of the second Test of the five-match series against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The sudden wickets of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in the consecutive delivery created a tense situation from where things could have gone worse for England. There was a mammoth task ahead of Harry Brook and the young Jamie Smith to handle the team's innings, but the way they fought back against the Indian bowlers was exemplary, stitching together a partnership in excess of 150 runs within the first session itself.
Out of both the English batters, while Harry Brook was in bit of a passive role, Jamie Smith took the attack to the Indian bowlers and left them in tatters. The 24-years-old wicketkeeper batsman scored the third-fastest century for England in Tests, achieving this feat in just 80 balls. Smith along with Brook played well and saved England from a precarious situation of 84/5 when they blazed away at more than a run-a-ball, playing a key role ensuring a total of 172 runs in the session of 27 overs.
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Jamie Smith becomes fourth fastest batter to a hundred against India in Test cricket
With his hundred in just 80 balls, Jamie Smith became the fourth fastest batter to get the three-figure score against India in Test cricket, finding himself in the illustrious list with names like David Warner, Ab de Villiers, and Shahid Afridi ahead of him. He also registered the joint third fastest hundred for England in Test cricket along with his non-striking partner Harry Brook, finding himself just behind GL Jessop and Jonny Bairstow.
His innings began on Mohammed Siraj’s hat-trick ball, when the confidence of the Indian side was high. Jamie Smith not only survived it, but managed to hit that hat-trick ball for a four. Drilled through mid-off, pitched up on the fourth stump. Siraj who was in the search of a wicket never expected that he would end up welcoming him with a boundary. The right-handed batter smashed four boundaries and one over-the-rope six off Prasidh Krishna, to move from 27 off 32 balls to 49 runs from 38 balls in a jiffy.
Prasidh Krishna’s plan to bowl a short length delivery to get a wicket backfired on him, as a result Jamie Smith constantly attacked him. In Prasidh's next over Smith hit a long six over deep fine leg region. On the last ball of the 36th over, as Smith hit Prasidh for a four over square leg, and after that he didn’t bowled till the lunch. The attack of Jamie Smith continued against Washington Sundar as well, as he welcomed him with a boundary off his first delivery and then a four in the next ball itself. With a solid attack like that, Smith went on to reach his hundred, scoring two consecutive boundaries off Ravindra Jadeja’s over.
