- June 23, 2025
There is something about England’s summer Tests that seems to deliver excitement, and Day 3 in Leeds was no exception. There was a Harry Brook masterclass that finished on the most unfortunate of numbers, a Chris Woakes counterattack straight from the Bazball playbook, and Jasprit Bumrah being Jasprit Bumrah – lethal and disciplined and now with a fifer to his name. While India would have been hoping to run through England after the second new ball, what they witnessed instead was a Brook-Woakes batting clinic that nearly matched India’s score of 471. They came up six runs short at 465, but England had seized the momentum.
Brook’s 99: A Knock That Deserved Three Figures
Harry Brook was certainly in the zone today. From the moment he walked in, it was intent, timing, and flair. It wasn’t just batting; he was battering the innings around him. From lofting Siraj nonchalantly and effortlessly to scooping Jadeja like a street cricketer, Brook had answers to everything India threw at him. But sport likes to be cruel. One run away from a much-deserved century, the first-class pull shot top edge off Prasidh Krishna sent him back to the hutch for 99. You could see the agony of failing to make three figures, but Brook had already done the damage. His 112-ball knock was pure momentum-shifter stuff, and the speed at which he scored kept India searching shadows for most of the afternoon.
Woakes & Carse Unleash Chaos, Shattering India’s Bowling Plans
Brook’s exit might have looked like the start of a slide, but Woakes and Carse flipped the script.. Woakes looked the part of a proper No. 6, confidently driving and pulling, even hitting Prasidh for a six. Carse added some cheeky boundaries as well, for a 50-run partnership in a blistering 36 balls. That was the jab that India wasn’t expecting. On top of that? India’s bowlers – Siraj in particular – bled runs at a prodigious rate. The short-ball tactic lacked sting, the line was erratic, and the dropped catches made things worse – Brook, Smith, and even Tongue all benefited from sloppy catches in the field. The tail stood strong for England, shifting momentum and bringing calm to their camp.
Bumrah’s Five: The One-Man Wrecking Crew
In a challenging time for bowlers, Bumrah impressed with his trademark intensity. His figures of 5 for 83 were not just a number. They declared rhythm, cunning, and hostility. His late burst cleaned up Woakes and Tongue, and he also managed to send the extremely robust Pope back. The delivery to bowl woakes in particular was nasty – a nip-backer that had the middle stump tarted up. This was Bumrah’s 14th five-wicket haul in tests, and had Bumrah not been in the Indian shirt, after the weather break, India would have left the field with a question presumably hovering over cool space, about what 10-hour deficit they would be facing? For all the errors (and there were too many), Bumrah kept bringing it back, good ball after good ball.
With only six runs on the scoreboard separating both teams, where do we go from here with the match? England has battled back superbly well,and India requires their top order to fire again. But with the pitch now showing up a few inconsistencies – both the good length balls are misbehaving and the spinners are starting to take effect, expect a few more twists! With Brook’s brilliance, Woakes’ tenacity, and Bumrah’s brilliance, we got a proper day of Test cricket on Day 3. But the bigger question is – who is going to blink first in this chess game of a Test?
For more, visit JeetBuzz News to read our quality Cricket Blog updates. Explore if you want to reminisce and enjoy all of your favourite cricket players and nostalgic match moments. To ensure that you never miss out, keep updated and join in the fun!
