India tour of England 2025: Jamie Smith's record-breaking ton leads England's fightback

The third morning of the Edgbaston Test between England and India saw the much-hyped Bazball methodology in full flow, as the hosts plundered 172 runs in the session for the loss of two wickets.

The scalps to fall were the big ones—Joe Root and Ben Stokes—both of whom fell off successive deliveries against Mohammed Siraj, but since then, it has been mayhem from Jamie Smith and Harry Brook.

The partnership added 165 till the lunch break, with Smith being the aggressor as he belted his way to a 80-ball century. It is the third fastest Test ton by an English batter and the first from his country to register the feat before lunch in a day's play without being unbeaten overnight.

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The sheer audacity of Smith's strokeplay was mesmerising, as he tore the Indian attack to shreds, utilising the flat nature of the pitch and fast outfield to good effect. Frustrated, India employed the short ball ploy, but it went horribly wrong as Smith's innings hit top gear.

Prasidh Krishna bore the brunt of Smith's onslaught as the pacer leaked runs left, right and centre, including a 23-run over where the wicket-keeper batter took him apart.

Shubman Gill then employed spin from both ends through Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, but even that couldn't curtail the run flow. With the surface not really aiding turn, Smith and Brook both took their chances to keep the scoreboard moving. The highlight of Smith's batting was his clarity regarding shot selection, and the tempo of his innings.

According to Cricbuzz, Smith's ton had the best control percentage (92.3) for a Test hundred scored under run-a-ball. It tells you how flawless Smith was despite scoring at a ridiculous strike-rate.

The only blemish in his knock was a half-chance when Sundar failed to hang on to a tough return catch. It was drilled back at the off-spinner and the ball was dying on him. Eventually, it snuck past him and Smith survived.

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That chance aside, Smith didn't look like gifting his wicket at all and upped the ante: almost at will. The very first ball of his innings—which was also Siraj's hat-trick ball—was a confident front-foot straight drive that raced to the fence. It was a shot that told you about Smith's mindset, and his positivity helped Brook settle after the latter looked nervy initially, much like he had last evening.

At lunch, England were 249/5, still 338 behind India. A lot hinges on this partnership, particularly for England if they are to get closer to India's total.

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