IND vs ENG: How Indian bowling unit stepped up in absence of Ashwin to pick eight wickets for 95 runs on Day 3

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IND vs ENG: Indian bowling unit showed tremendous character in the absence of their ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to bundle out England, who were cruising at 224/2, for 319 runs only on day three of the ongoing third Test at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.

Ashwin picked his landmark 500th Test wicket on Friday but was forced to leave Rajkot for Chennai due to a family medical emergency. BCCI president Rajeev Shukla revealed that Ashwin's mother was unwell.

England were off to a flying start in their first innings, stitching 89 runs in just 13 overs. It was Ashwin who struck to dismiss Zak Crawley, break the threatening partnership and become the ninth player to pick 500 Test wickets.

After England finished Day 2 on 207/2 in 35 overs, eyes were on Ashwin to bring India back in the match with a magical spell. The unorthodox Test batting approach from England, needed someone like Ashwin to do something out of the box to outwit and outfox the raging English innings.

But once the news of Ashwin pulling out of the Test came, a fear of uncertainty struck the Indian fans. England were expected to get a massive advantage in the absence of Ashwin, but the first session on Saturday itself changed the entire plot.

Jasprit Bumrah again led the way by bowling an extended spell and restricting the 'bazball' run flow to put pressure and get the wicket of Joe Root. The former England captain tried executing a reverse sweep in the fifth over of the day only to give a catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at second slip.

Kuldeep Yadav soon put further pressure by getting the wickets of Jonny Bairstow (0) and Ben Duckett (151). Kuldeep Yadav did stupendously well to keep the England batters on the edge. He bowled tight lines, and the added spin created further doubts in the minds of the batters.

His ball to Bairstow swung back in sharply to trap him in front of stumps. Later, Duckett tamely hit one wide delivery to Shubman Gill at cover. The same batter smashed a 88-ball hundred on Friday, and smashed fours and sixes on his whims and fancies.

The left-hand played the field and the ball on its merit, and looked unstoppable. But the early pressure exerted by India on the third day, pushed him in a shell, forcing him to get out on a ball which would have been hammered for a boundary on nine out of ten occasions.

Local boy Ravindra Jadeja picked the big wicket of Ben Stokes (41), before Mohammed Siraj ran through the English tail. Learning his lessons from the first Test, Siraj stuck to his basics and attacked the stumps, and successfully managed to hit the timber twice to finish with figures of 4/84.

England lost their last eight wickets for just 95 runs as the Ashwin-less Indian bowling unit gave India a 126-run first innings lead, and a solid platform to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test series.