Eng vs Ind, 5th Test, Day 3 | Bairstow leads England recovery, takes hosts to 200/6 before rain brings early lunch

Bumrah took a blinder to remove Ben Stokes; England still trail India by 216 runs

India pacer Shardul Thakur more than made up for dropping a regulation skier by dismissing Ben Stokes but Jonny Bairstow took the attack back to the opposition camp with an unbeaten 91 to steer England to 200 for six at lunch on day three of the rescheduled fifth Test.

Stokes (25) and England’s man of the moment Bairstow added 66 for the sixth wicket before Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah produced a moment of inspiration on the field, taking a diving screamer off Thakur’s bowling to dismiss his opposite number.

The dismissal couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for India after an attacking field seemed counter-productive as seven boundaries came between overs 33 and 36.

In fact, in a spell of 10 minutes, Stokes was dropped twice, first by Shardul, who couldn’t latch on to a skier when the English skipper had shimmied down the track only to mistime it.

The second chance was off the delivery before the dismissal when he flat-batted Shardul straight to Bumrah at mid-off and to everyone’s horror, he missed a regulation catch.

But instead of being discreet, Stokes did a repeat act only to find that the Indian skipper holding on to a much tougher chance.

For Bairstow (12x4, 2x6), who seemed to be struggling during the final hour on second day, did play and miss during the first 20 minutes.