Jamie Smith and Harry Brook helped salvage England's innings with a ruthless counter-attacking punch on Day 3 of the second Test against India at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The wicketkeeper-batter Smith slammed a ton off just 80 balls, making it the joint third-fastest century ever achieved by an England batsman. Smith walked out to bat in just the second over on Day 3 after England captain Ben Stokes was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj for a golden duck.
Smith immediately began to target the opposition and took out Prasidh Krishna for special treatment. He combined with Brook to help England score 172 runs in 27 overs during the first session, which also saw the hosts lost two wickets.
The whole Edgbaston crowd gave Smith a standing ovation when he reached the three-figure mark with a boundary off Ravindra Jadeja. In the pavilion, Stokes also got up to laud his innings.
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In the first innings of the Headingley Test, Smith was dismissed while attempting to play the pull shot, but he had no intention of giving up against Prasidh Krishna in the ongoing clash. The tall Indian pacer decided to bowl a flurry of short balls at Smith, who appeared to have anticipated the tactic and dished up a string of 4s and 6s.
Prasidh continued to bang it short and Smith continued to knock them out for boundaries on the leg side. In fact, Smith mustered 23 runs off the 32nd over bowled by Prasidh, a rare sight as far Test cricket is concerned.
On the opening ball of the over, Prasidh did not concede a run, but rest of the deliveries were smashed to the boundary rope. As Smith unleashed carnage, Ravi Shastri joked on TV saying: "Arrogance personified".
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The right-arm pacer joined Ravindra Jadeja in conceding most runs among Indians in a single over against England. The Rajkot Test in 2024 saw the left-arm spinner leak the same number of runs.
Smith during the course of his knock also achieved the fastest fifty in the current India-England series, taking just 43 balls.
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