Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Back of a length and bowled around off, Rahul keeps it down.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, FOUR! Bread and butter for KL Rahul now. An outswinger, starts on off and moves away, too full and Rahul strokes it on the up through covers and the ball races away to the fence this time.
Ben Stokes to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Now, a misfield! Ben Stokes targets the pads and slides one in fuller, Jaiswal misses the flick and gets it off the pads to Zak Crawley at leg slip. But Crawley is undone by the bad bounce and lets it through, conceding a leg bye as the keeper goes to collect the ball.
Jaiswal is known for brute power and has dealt a lot in sixes. He hit 39 sixes in the 2023-25 WTC cycle - the most by any player.
Brydon Carse to KL Rahul, Action replay of the previous delivery.
Brydon Carse to KL Rahul, Outside off, on a length, left alone.
Brydon Carse to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hmm... this seems to be a definite plan now. England have got a leg gully in place and Carse is trying to bowl it down the leg side, aiming to get Jaiswal flick it to that fielder. During India's tour to Australia last year, Mitchell Starc got Jaiswal caught at square leg playing exactly that flick shot. Now, that is another matter, that it was not planned by the Aussies. Full, down the leg side, Yashasvi Jaiswal flicks it towards long leg for a single.
Brydon Carse to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Down the wrong line now! Pitched up on the pads, sliding further in, Yashasvi Jaiswal misses the flick and the ball goes off the pads and into the fine leg fence. FOUR LEG BYES!
Brydon Carse to Yashasvi Jaiswal, FOUR! Frustrating for Ben Stokes and that is just too full from Brydon Carse. Goes for the yorker again but serves a high full toss around off. Yashasvi Jaiswal thrashes it away in front of point and the ball goes off the practice pitches and into the fence.
Brydon Carse to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Misses out there, does Jaiswal! A juicy full toss on middle and off, Jaiswal looks to hammer it straight back but miscues it.
Dinesh Karthik on air, informs us that the wind has picked up. Might just be a cloud but the conditions have just gotten a wee bit cloudy. Given that the ball is not moving around that much, may not be long before England try their luck with the wobbly seam. Meanwhile, here comes Brydon Carse. 5-2-13-0 so far.
Ben Stokes to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Similar ball, worked off the inner half of the bat again, through mid-wicket, for a single.
Ben Stokes to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Full, around middle, swinging in, Yashasvi Jaiswal looks to play straight. But the late movement takes the ball off the inner half, towards short mid-wicket.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, A short ball, outside off, KL Rahul swivels, gets on top of the bounce and pulls it all along the ground through square leg, for a single.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Length ball on off, KL Rahul defends it into the ground and calls for one. Jaiswal screams out a loud 'NO' and stops KL.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, FOUR! Another boundary in the same region! Full and swinging away, outside off, KL goes for the square drive and gets it off the outer half of the bat as the ball goes through the gap between backward point and gully for another boundary.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, FOUR! First real error from KL after an hour or so! Full and swinging away outside off, KL Rahul goes for the drive and goes hard at it. The ball catches the outside edge and flies well over gully to the fence behind.
Meanwhile, we have an update from the ECB. Jacob Bethell is currently on as a substitute for Chris Woakes. Both, Bethell and Sam Cook are due to leave the squad on Saturday evening, to play in the Championship on Sunday. Jamie Overton is likely to stay with England.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Outside off, left alone.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, That's good pace. 138 kph, short and at the body, Jaiswal arches back and tries to guide it over the slip cordon but is comprehensively beaten by pace.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Full and outside off, a touch wide, Yashasvi Jaiswal watches it go past. Another case of overstepping pointed out by the third umpire and umpire Chris Gaffaney signals a NO BALL.
Josh Tongue to KL Rahul, A short ball, outside off, barely rises. KL Rahul has enough time in the world to swivel and pull the ball to deep mid-wicket. Already, we are seeing an in-out field from Stokes.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Length ball swinging in a touch, on off, Jaiswal prods in defense as the ball takes the inner half of his bat and goes into the leg side. Single taken.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ahh that has been the problem with England seamers this morning. One or two good deliveries followed by a poor delivery. Back of a length ball sliding well down the leg side. Jaiswal leaves it alone.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Length ball swinging in a touch, Jaiswal looks to defend it and gets hit on the knee roll of the front pad and the ball flies towards the slip cordon.
Talk about being positive and Stuart Broad will top the list. He is already looking at the average scores on Day 4 and Day 5 at Headingley, citing that the average runs per wicket goes upto nearly 40 on the 5th day. So Broad feels that England will believe they are in the game if they keep India to 360 or below. Ian Ward beside him, informs us that the forecast has changed, with the radar showing blustery thunderstorms on Days 2 and 3. Now, the bowler in Broad is excited and reckons that the ball will nip around a lot under grey skies.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, That seemed like a slower ball. On a length, outside off, nibbling away late, KLR lets it go.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Full and a bit too straight, KL falls over but manages to push the ball towards mid on.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, A bit wide outside off, Rahul lets it go.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Full, around off, swinging away, KL Rahul comes forward and wstchfully pushes it towards point. The third umpire informs umpire Paul Reiffel that Stokes has overstepped and we see the signal for a NO BALL.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, A touch full and moving away, in the channel outside off. KL Rahul shoulders his arms to it.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Length ball again. Angling in, just outside off, and moving away after pitching. KL Rahul judges the line carefully as he again shoulders his arms to the ball.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Length ball moving away, well outside off, KL Rahul doesn't bother playing it as he leaves it alone.
Meanwhile, in Galle, Bangladesh have just lost their third wicket. Milan Rathnayake has managed to break the 68-run stand between Shadman Islam and skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto, trapping Shadman LBW for a well-made 76. Bangladesh's score now reads 128/3, with the overall lead saying 138. Around three-quarters of an hour left for Stumps tonight and another 3 sessions tomorrow. Is there a result still possible?
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, That is down the leg side. The radar is not quite spot on from Tongue yet. Further, this is short in length as well. Yashasvi looks to whip it away but misses.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, On a good length, around off, Jaiswal pushes it towards point.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Now, now, now, that is the IPL effect. Have to say, this was a bit needless from Jaiswal, at THIS stage of the game. One understands that he wants to be positive and attack but one should not overattack. A bouncer, around middle and off, Yashasvi Jaiswal ducks but at the last moment, tries to play the upper cut. Nearly guided it straight to the keeper.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Back of a length, well outside off, Yashasvi Jaiswal goes hard at it as he looks to cut and misses. The ball goes past his outside edge. That was there to be hit.
Josh Tongue to KL Rahul, From over the wicket, angled in on a length, sliding down leg, KL Rahul flicks it behind square to deep fine leg for a single.
Yashasvi Jaiswal had a fantastic WTC cycle from 2023-2025. He had scored 1798 runs in that cycle, second only to England's Joe Root, averaging a healthy 52.9.
Josh Tongue to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Back of a length on middle, Yashasvi Jaiswal works it behind square on the leg side as he takes the bottom hand off the bat. Single taken.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Wide outside off again, Rahul will not commit the same mistake twice. That too, in the span of 3 balls. Watches it go past. Not a bad start from England's Midas.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Closer to the off stump, on a length, this time Rahul watches it go past.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Ooohh... nearly a fatal mistake! Stokes smiles. He keeps this really full outside off, and lands it pretty wide. KL Rahul goes for the expansive cover drive but misses. He is very lucky to have not edged that.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Full and swinging away, outside off, KL Rahul leaves it alone.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Ahh! A poor length ball sliding down leg, KL Rahul looks to help it on it's way as he goes for a pull shot, but he doesn't get any bat on it.
Ben Stokes to KL Rahul, Right on the money from Stokes! Length delivery that angles in on a length, on off, and then straightens a touch to go past the outside edge of Rahul's bat, who pokes at it.
Prior to this Test, KL Rahul had scored 614 runs in England - the most he has scored in an away country in Test cricket. The subjects are in trouble and they look towards Midas. Ben Stokes takes the ball in his hand to try and give something for his bowlers.
Josh Tongue to KL Rahul, 50-RUN OPENING STAND! Nicely played again! Too full and straight, KL Rahul just leans on and punches it well to the right of Ben Stokes at mid off. The ball doesn't have the legs to roll away to the fence and Stokes cuts it off. Three taken.
Josh Tongue to KL Rahul, Dragged length, bowling it wide of the off stump, let through to the keeper.