Siraj takes four as India bowl England out for 319

Mohammed Siraj took four wickets as India bowled England out for 319 and established a crucial lead of 126 in the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin on day three of the third Test on Saturday.

Ben Duckett hit 153 and skipper Ben Stokes made 41 in his 100th Test but England lost wickets at regular intervals and their innings ended in the second session in Rajkot.

Siraj wiped out the tail with help from Ravindra Jadeja, who along with fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets each.

Left-hander Stokes attempted to rebuild after Duckett's departure and hit six boundaries.

But he fell to Jadeja's left-arm spin and Siraj sent back wicketkeeper Ben Foakes at the start of the next over as England's batting collapsed.

The tourists resumed on 207-2 in reply to India's 445 but lost two wickets in the space of six deliveries inside the first 30 minutes.

Jasprit Bumrah struck in the fifth over of the day when Joe Root attempted a reverse scoop and Yashasvi Jaiswal caught it at second slip.

Kuldeep got Jonny Bairstow trapped lbw for a duck and the batsman burned a review for England, with replays suggesting the ball would have hit middle stump.

The left-handed Duckett got to 150 but came to a tame end when he chased a wide delivery from Kuldeep to give away a catch to cover fielder Shubman Gill.

Duckett smashed 23 fours and two sixes in his 151-ball knock, which punished the Indian bowlers on day two after Ashwin got the other opener Zak Crawley for his 500th wicket.

Ashwin left the Test midway due to a family emergency hours later and Devdutt Padikkal came in as substitute fielder.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced Ashwin's withdrawal late Friday, with vice-president Rajeev Shukla saying he had rushed to Chennai "to be with his mother".

The five-match series is level at 1-1 after England won the opener and India bounced back in the second match.

/KN/