Jamie Smith's stunning counter-attacking century pulled England back from the brink against India on the third day of the second Test at Edgbaston. England were in a precarious position at 84-5 after Mohammed Siraj took two wickets in two balls, dismissing Joe Root and Ben Stokes. Stokes was out for a golden duck, the first of his Test career.

However, Smith, the wicketkeeper-batter, turned the game around with an unbeaten century off just 80 balls before lunch. His innings included 14 fours and three sixes. At lunch, England were 249-5, still 338 runs behind India's first-innings total of 567. Shubman Gill had earlier scored a superb 269 for India.

Harry Brook provided excellent support, remaining unbeaten on 91, and together, they added 165 runs for the sixth wicket in a sensational partnership. Smith's second Test century equaled Brook's own 80-ball century against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022. Only Gilbert Jessop and Jonny Bairstow have scored faster Test centuries for England.

England resumed the day on 77-3, with Root on 18 and Brook on 30. Siraj dismissed Root and Stokes in quick succession to leave England in dire straits. Just as Akash Deep was denied a hat-trick on Thursday, Siraj was also denied one when Smith drove his first ball for four.

Smith, showing no signs of fatigue from his wicket-keeping duties, welcomed Washington Sundar's introduction to the attack by hitting his first two balls for four. He then lofted Ravindra Jadeja for six and followed up with consecutive fours to reach his century. England scored 172 runs in the 27 overs before lunch.

Smith's aggressive approach was evident when he smashed 22 runs in one over from Prasidh Krishna. India had tried the short-ball tactic, but Smith took them apart. They then switched to spin, but Brook and Smith continued to score freely. Smith's innings is now one of the fastest centuries by an England player in Tests.