Stokes conjures England magic to halt India and put third Test on knife-edge
It has been a tough old series for England’s bowlers.As well as wrestling with docile pitches and doughy Dukes balls in a lengthy heatwave, they have come up against an India batting lineup that is rich with talent and seriously gutsy with it.The upshot has been perspiration outstripping inspiration for long passages of play.Not that those two elements are mutually exclusive and in Ben Stokes, England have a cricketer who thrives on delivering both.On a gripping third day of this third Test, as India were bowled out for 387 in 119.
2 overs to leave the scores level on first innings, the hosts were thankful for their captain’s ability to conjure something from nothing.At stumps, on two for no loss, England had just about returned to the box seat because of it.The first was a viral-worthy run-out when a wicketless morning was within India’s grasp, the tourists having added 103 runs to their overnight 145 for three in ominous fashion.Possibly driven to get KL Rahul on strike and thus to his century before the break, Rishabh Pant dead-batted an intended single but briefly hesitated after setting off, with Stokes swooping in from cover to hit the bullseye in one fluid motion.What made Pant’s removal all the more remarkable was that Stokes was fresh – or rather anything but fresh – from a five-over burst of bouncers in 30C heat, hitting 90mph on the speed gun through sheer heft.
Given his body was doubtless barking at him, and his mind whirring as a result, it was a superb display of awareness and athleticism.The second came after tea with the second new ball.Against the run of play, Stokes broke a troubling sixth-wicket stand of 72 runs between Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy when he extracted some extra lift from the surface and the latter edged behind.Stokes had already clanged Reddy on the helmet and it took the bowling coach Tim Southee rushing down from the pavilion to call time on a seven-over spell.But for those two moments from Stokes, and Shoaib Bashir outfoxing Rahul to shut down a wonderfully round 100 from 177 balls, India might well have batted England out of this Test match.
As it is, after an evening session in which Stokes’s men fought back with character to claim five wickets for 71 runs – only the eighth time in Test history that first innings scores have been level – a straight shootout has now bubbled up.How the hosts fare with the bat on day four will probably decide it and going by Jasprit Bumrah’s mood at the close, it will not be straightforward.Bumrah could only send down a single over before the clock ticked past 6.30pm, Zak Crawley indulging in some Oscar-worthy time-wasting that sparked a heated exchange of words.Once again, in a Test match afflicted by constant stoppages, 10 overs disappeared into the ether.
India will have regrets beyond failing to get in a second over late on.The tourists had been building well before Pant’s brain-fade on 74, with Rahul’s 10th Test century a masterclass in precision and style.The wiry right-hander appears almost born to bat in England, such is his diligence outside off stump and ability to caress the ball square.In the end he was undone by some exquisite dip from Bashir and edged to slip.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotionThereafter, and despite at least three more flirtations with run-outs, India owed plenty to their premier all-rounder.
Supported by Reddy, and overcoming some serious heat from Jofra Archer, Jadeja compiled 72 from 131 balls that again brought out his flamboyant sword celebration,He also forced Bashir off the field for the rest of the day when he slammed a tough chance back to the off-spinner and damaged his left little finger,But having turned 254 for five at the fall of Rahul into 376 for six, Jadeja then fell to a leg-side strangle off Chris Woakes — the first of four wickets to fall for 11 runs that cast minds back to India’s ruinous tail-end collapses at Headingley,Woakes finished with his figures buffed up to read three for 84 from 27 overs, his day having previously been something of a struggle in which he was down on pace and short on luck,Archer added a second to his emotional first wicket 24 hours earlier and 23.
2 overs in total was another boxed-ticked on his comeback.Going back to the well after a day’s play is arguably his biggest challenge after that four-year absence from Test cricket.Here he sent a four-over burst after lunch that, at an average speed of 90.3mph, eclipsed even his famous 2019 duel with Steve Smith at Lord’s by way of pace.This augurs well for Archer’s ongoing role in an attack that has found itself toiling in this series.
Stokes, despite allaying concerns over that groin niggle on the opening day, cannot be relied on to keep producing the magic when the chips are down.
UK government’s deal with Google ‘dangerously naive’, say campaigners
Google has agreed a sweeping deal with the UK government to provide free technology to the public sector from the NHS to local councils– a move campaigners have called “dangerously naive”.The US company will be asked to “upskill” tens of thousands of civil servants in technology, including in using artificial intelligence, as part of an agreement that will not require the government to pay. It is considered in Whitehall to be giving Google “a foot in the door” as the digitisation of public services accelerates.However, the agreement prompted concerns about the precariousness of UK public data potentially being held on US servers amid the unpredictable leadership of Donald Trump.The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said Google Cloud, which provides databases, machine learning and computing power, had “agreed to work with the UK government in helping public services use advanced tech to shake off decades old ‘ball and chain’ legacy contracts which leave essential services vulnerable to cyber-attack”
Linda Yaccarino stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk’s X
The CEO of X, Elon Musk’s social network, announced on Wednesday she would resign.“After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏,” Linda Yaccarino wrote.Musk replied to her tweet: “Thank you for your contributions.”The outgoing CEO said, “When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App
Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4tn in market value
Chipmaker Nvidia became the first public company in history to scale a $4tn market value on Wednesday as its stock price continues a years-long stratospheric rise.Shares of the top chip designer rose roughly 2.4% to $164, benefiting from the ongoing surge in demand for artificial intelligence technologies. Nvidia’s chips and associated software are considered world leaders for building artificial intelligence products.Nvidia achieved a $1tn market value for the first time back in June 2023 and the surge continued unabated with its market value – the total value of its shares – more than tripling in about a year, faster than Apple and Microsoft, the only other US firms with a market value of more than $3tn
Sony WH-1000XM6 review: raising the bar for noise-cancelling headphones
Sony’s latest top-of-the-range Bluetooth headphones seek to reclaim the throne for the best noise cancellers money can buy with changes inside and out.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Sony 1000X series has long featured some of the best noise cancelling you can buy and has been locked in a battle with rival Bose for the top spot
Futurist Adam Dorr on how robots will take our jobs: ‘We don’t have long to get ready – it’s going to be tumultuous’
If Adam Dorr is correct, robots and artificial intelligence will dominate the global economy within a generation and put virtually the entire human race out of a job. The social scientist doubles up as a futurist and has a stark vision of the scale, speed and unstoppability of a technological transformation that he says will replace virtually all human labour within 20 years.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more
Musk’s AI firm forced to delete posts praising Hitler from Grok chatbot
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence firm xAI has deleted “inappropriate” posts on X after the company’s chatbot, Grok, began praising Adolf Hitler, referring to itself as MechaHitler and making antisemitic comments in response to user queries.In some now-deleted posts, it referred to a person with a common Jewish surname as someone who was “celebrating the tragic deaths of white kids” in the Texas floods as “future fascists”.“Classic case of hate dressed as activism – and that surname? Every damn time, as they say,” the chatbot commented.In another post it said, “Hitler would have called it out and crushed it.”The Guardian has been unable to confirm if the account that was being referred to belonged to a real person or not and media reports suggest it has now been deleted
Rachel Reeves expected to review pensions auto-enrolment
Car finance: Drivers using claims firms could face 36% add-on charge on compensation payouts
HSBC becomes first UK bank to quit industry’s net zero alliance
Supersize me: recreating Pret’s £13 miso salmon super plate at home
Rachel Reeves to try to reassure City investors after unexpected UK GDP fall
Rubio in bind as he seeks to reassure south-east Asia, even as it faces Trump tariffs