ENG vs IND: England openers wipe off India's score of 78 runs without losing any wicket, in dominating position

England's dominance in the third Test continued throughout the day as after bowling out India for just 78 runs in the first innings, their openers wiped the lead off without any hiccups and helped their side go into the lead with all 10 wickets intact.

Hameed, who made a comeback into the Test side at Lord's didn't have a great outing but rectified with a solid hand of 60 runs. Rory Burns too after a gritty 49 in the first innings slammed another half-century as both players stitched an unbeaten 120-run opening stand, giving their side a healthy 42-run lead.

An outstanding day 

Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/SUkSvXAmRr

#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/wrGTVF9DYh

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 25, 2021

Indian skipper Virat Kohli was happy and surprised after winning the toss as he chose to bat first but the smiles and happiness disappeared after the match started as it was all England after the first ball of the match was bowled by the 39-year old James Anderson. 

The wickets started falling in the first over and it just didn't stop and every over felt reminiscent of Adelaide 2020 and it kept getting tougher for the ones in the middle and the ones watching. The hero of the first two games, KL Rahul was the first one to go as the 39-year old youngster James Anderson got the ball to shape away from the bat a little after setting him up with incoming deliveries.

He had a similar plan for Cheteshwar Pujara and India's No 3 fell into the same and Buttler had two catches, Anderson's figures after three overs read 2-1. Rohit Sharma and skipper Kohli defied the storm for a little while before Anderson removed the captain and India's ship sank a little further.

Rohit looked the defiant best, almost blunting everything and Rahane gave him support for a little bit before falling at the stroke of the lunch to Ollie Robinson. Robinson didn't take much time as he got rid of Rishabh Pant soon after the break and India were 58-5.

Rohit Sharma's patience gave up and to his favorite pull shot, again. Not to square leg but mid-on, this time, however, the result was the same - his downfall. After which, it was just a matter of time. India collapsed from 67/5 to 67/9 as Craig Overton sent back Shami, the next ball.

Sam Curran from the other end, dismissed Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah in two balls and India were staring at another total of less than 70. But, Ishant Sharma's couple of boundaries ensured India moved beyond their first seven low scores in Test matches but folded for 78, their ninth-lowest score in Test matches.

Anderson, Overton ended up with three wickets each while Curran and Robinson picked up two wickets each as England after losing the toss, put on a show with the ball for the ages against a strong Indian batting line-up. 

These four 

What an effort from our bowlers today 

Scorecard & Videos: https://t.co/oJVE4CEN8d#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/VJPCq7kYqQ

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 25, 2021