Smith’s blazing ton leaves Vaughan in Awe

Former England captain Michael Vaughan stunned on Friday with the fiery ton of Jamie Smith against India on the third day of the second Test in Birmingham.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Vaughan praised the Smith's batting prowess, saying, "Wow… Jamie Smith. We have witnessed a bit of genius. If you walked into the ground and saw the fields being set, you would think England were dominating this game."

Vaughan was of the view that another dominating session with the bat could turn the tide for England, saying, "Another session like that and it's game on."

England’s Dramatic Comeback on Day 3

Morning collapse
England resumed at 77–3 but quickly tumbled to 84–5 in just the first over of the day. Joe Root and Ben Stokes were dismissed on consecutive balls by Mohammed Siraj. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope were already out for ducks, leaving a crisis for England.

Smith and Brook strike back
At that point, young wicketkeeper-batsman Jamie Smith (80-ball century, third-fastest ever for England) and Harry Brook (unbeaten 91 at lunch) launched a stunning.

Their unbeaten partnership of 165 runs off 154 balls hauled England to 249–5 at lunch, clawing back momentum.
 
Post-lunch dominance
The pair continued their assault with aggressive strokeplay—Smith took on Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar, and Brook joined with fluent batting.

By afternoon tea, England had crossed 300–5, with Smith reaching 150 and Brook completing his century—putting 328–5 on the board.

Match situation
Despite the stunning recovery, England still trail India by around 300–338 runs (India first innings: 587).

The partnership revived England’s chances completely, breathing new life into a previously one-sided contest.

England started the day staring down defeat, but an extraordinary partnership from Smith and Brook transformed the Test into a competitive battle. England remains behind but their strong middle-order rescue has made the match intriguing again.