Just 38.5 overs of the game were possible due to a rain interruption, but although it was maddening for the crowd, it proved enough to propel India into the match and a 2-1 series lead. In the end, after the weather finally relented to allow an intense hour of late action, England had collapsed to 84 for five in response to India’s 416 all out. Bumrah was unstoppable in the clouds. India’s first seamer since Kapil Dev in 1987, any thoughts of being a genuine all-rounder like his forefather are usually between him and the bathroom mirror. But as he walked off the stumps, the smile spoke volumes, his previous unbeaten 31 off 16 balls had seen Broad suffer 35 runs in an over and figures of 3 for 35 with the ball truly devastating. Those knocks had vaporized the front three of Alex Lees, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope when the late session began, but it was the dismissal of Joe Root for 31 by Mohammed Siraj that may prove most telling. Fluent early on, the England number four was in the dark after England resumed at 60 for three and as he leaned back trying to guide a square behind the square, the ball was laid richly and feathered a back edge. That meant Jack Leach came out with 20 minutes remaining, but he lasted just five balls, the nightwatchman promptly falling to the crease before being bowled for space by Mohammed Shami for another caught behind. Jonny Bairstow has at least looked solid for his unbeaten 12, while it will be fascinating to see if Ben Stokes continues his summer of sheer aggression when he gets going first thing. Until this latest installment was played under bright sunshine, it was a day when thoughts often turned to the old Brumbrella that for 20 years until 2001 spread across the pitch at Edgbaston whenever the skies opened (only for repeated malfunctions and concerns about effect on the field to see it disappear for good in 2001). A sell-out Saturday crowd spent most of the time in a state of rainy limbo, milling around the pitches awaiting official announcements and keeping the bar staff busy. They at least had a bit to discuss, with the gritty nature of England’s top-order collapse one matter to chew on, India’s tail-end plans another. Stuart Broad conceded a record 35 runs in an over at the end of India’s innings. Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images Bumrah’s cameo with the bat came in the morning as India added another 78 runs to their overnight 338 for seven and added to the impact of Rishabh Pant’s 146 on day one. Ravindra Jadeja turned 83 into a third Test century for another Rajput sword dance celebration, while Jimmy Anderson whistled his 32nd career five with five for 60 from 21.5 overs. To think, he turns 40 later this month. Broad also became the fifth Test cricketer to reach 550 wickets when a bouncer off Shami gave England their first cut, the number nine’s attempted uppercut over single slip happily fielded by Leach. But in the 84th over, after Anderson had ended Jadeja’s extremely industrious knock, bowled on 104 trying to hit the second new ball, things probably slipped away for him. Based on a short-ball design – the kind that failed last summer when India’s tail opened The Lord’s Test – Broad struck eight times for six legal deliveries that resulted in five wides, one no-ball, four fours, two sixes and a jackass. single to finish it off. Bumrah’s bat ended with a few cherries on its edges, but it had plenty of gusto. Broad, 15 years after Yuvraj Singh’s sixes in the 2007 World T20, could expect another avalanche of Indian well-wishers on his social media accounts. It was soon back to day-to-day work for Bumrah and in the three overs before the rain brought an early meal to Lees, bowled by a ripper who crouched through a yawning wicket. After a 75-minute rain-delayed first break, Bumrah found himself on a hat-trick when Crawley’s struggles continued at an uncertain fence to third slip. Root, out there with the familiar score of 27 for two, somehow survived as another stroke of Bumrah’s action went past his outside edge. The Spin: sign up and receive our weekly cricket email. He and Pope made it through the next break unscathed, but during a 40-minute game between 3.15 and 3.55 p.m. the last fell. For the third time in the day coming off the final delivery of an over extended with a no-ball, Pope teased a quick drive on 10 and reached second slip. Pope looked up at the sky in disgust, but if anyone was up there, he was smiling down at Bumrah.
