Broad happy with overall gains but not a fan of the follow-on

Needing another 47 runs to avoid batting again with two wickets in hand, the visitors would be hoping for their tail to wag more to help secure a draw.

India's Rohit Sharma leaves the field after being dismissed during the third Test match against England. Philip Brown / Reuters

Stuart Broad was delighted with the performance of the England bowlers as they claimed eight wickets in the third Test against India.

The bowlers were granted just reward and a little more from occasionally compliant India for their hard work, as the hosts stayed on course for a shot at victory.

James Anderson (three for 52) and Broad (three for 65) kept chipping away, and Moeen Ali picked up two bonus wickets as India closed Day 3 at the Ageas Bowl on 323 for eight in reply to 569 for seven declared.

Broad told Sky Sports 2: “I think we’ve had a good day. Obviously we set it up with the bat and had a huge amount of scoreboard pressure which always helps, because if you bowl a slightly fuller ball that gets driven for four, you’ve got so many runs on the board to go again.

“Eight wickets, were pretty happy with. We’d have loved to have bowled them out today out to give ourselves a bit of a rest tomorrow, but I think it’s still a really good batting wicket.

“Hopefully, from our point of view, it will [the wicket] deteriorate over the next two days and certainly Day 5 maybe offer a bit down towards the stumps.”

Broad conceded he did not think captain Alastair Cook would enforce the follow-on, still 47 runs away. He said: “I’m not a fan of the follow-on. I think unless you’ve got a world-class spinner who can bowl one end for the second innings, the follow-on is a risky business.”

Ajinkya Rahane (54) stood in their way longest, following up last week’s Lord’s century after an early bit of luck on eight when umpire Rod Tucker did not detect a glove down leg side to Jos Buttler off Ali.

India captain MS Dhoni then held up England in the evening session, to finish with an unbeaten 50.

Long before then, Cook preferred Chris Woakes to Broad in tandem with Anderson at the start of a gloriously sunny day. Broad, perhaps feeling a small point to prove, struck in his second over when he got a short ball to follow Cheteshwar Pujara and take the glove as the batsman tried to leave it. Instead it gave wicketkeeper Jos Buttler his first catch in Test cricket.

Broad was in the middle of a testing spell and one that proved too much for Murali Vijay, who remained uncertain against a tight line and paid for it with an inside-edge down on to his stumps.

It was after lunch when England struck again, with Virat Kohli continuing his mediocre tour. He had made 39 – his best score of the series so far – when he edged Anderson to Cook at slip.

That appeared sure to be England’s lot for the session until Rohit Sharma blundered, five minutes before tea, advancing to hit Ali straight to Broad at mid off to end a stand of 74.

England were helped on their way again with another important success gifted to Ali when Rahane spoiled almost three hours of skilled determination by skying a pull at a long hop to substitute fielder Sean Terry at midwicket.

Anderson profited with full-length swing 18 overs after the second new ball to claim Ravindra Jadeja as he aimed to leg to plunder a seventh four of his innings but was struck on the pads to be out lbw.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, three times already a significant sting in the India tail this summer, threatened to close out the day with Dhoni.

But as England tired in the heat and the equation narrowed to the follow-on mark, Broad summoned residual energy to have Kumar looping a catch via inside edge and pad to Gary Ballance at third slip.