India, July 6 -- England had been grinding their way towards survival on the final day of the Edgbaston Test. A mammoth 608-run target had long faded from imagination, and all that mattered now was time, and the prospect of resistance. After early blows to Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, the morning then belonged to Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith, who appeared to be stitching together the sort of partnership that could frustrate India's victory charge. But just when it looked like the hosts would go to lunch with no further damage, a flicker of tactical brilliance from India's captain changed everything.

With a few overs left before lunch, Nitish Reddy, India's pace-bowling all-rounder, had already given his jumper to the umpire, seemingly prepa...