Rest of India 237 and 306 for 8 (Smaran 126*, Sangwan 55, Lotra 3-71, Nazir 3-87) lead Jammu & Kashmir 278 by 265 runs

By the end of play, RoI extended their lead to 265 runs, two wickets still left to play with. Smaran walked back unbeaten on 126 off 131 balls. In total, J&K bowled 21 no-balls in the innings, and Nazir 22 in the game by himself. If the previous day’s play had ended with J&K securing a crucial 41-run first-innings lead thanks to their lower-order comeback, this one ended with them letting RoI back into the contest with their unforced errors.

RoI were 24 for 1 overnight, and returned to bat with the game in fast-forward. The pitch had assisted pace and bounce, suiting J&K’s battery of fast bowlers, who mostly operate in the sub-130kph range. But on day three, conditions had largely flattened out.

Fellow opener Shikhar Mohan had departed in the first session to a superb fuller delivery off Sunil which swung away from him. However, the rest of RoI’s top order fell to poor shots after lunch. Sudip Kumar Gharami was out on 33. He chopped onto his stumps off a loose pull. Then, facing Nazir, Sangwan nibbled at a delivery hanging well outside off. Bowling allrounder Saransh Jain, promoted to No. 4, played on himself, just two overs later. He had edged another back-of-a-length delivery.

Nazir, suddenly, had two canny wickets to his name, though he had already been bowling plenty of no-balls. In fact, both the Sangwan and Jain wickets came immediately after a no-ball. Three deliveries after sending Jain back, in the 54th over, Nazir needed no prelude for once. He got Sarfaraz Khan to prod at a ball nibbling away outside off. RoI were 131 for 5 at that stage.

Along with J&K’s erring lines and lengths as the day proceeded, they dropped chances in the field as well. Already, around the 38th over, Shubham Pundir was standing too deep in the cordon. He dropped an edge and then failed to grab another because the ball bounced in front of him. Upon being chided by the other close-in fielders, Pundir remedied his mistake by repositioning himself melodramatically close to the batter. Eventually, he stepped a few metres back, to a better calibrated spot.

After Akash Deep’s dismissal, RoI were 197 for 8, with J&K firmly on top. But they would not take another wicket for the rest of the third session. Smaran compiled an unbroken 109-run partnership with Choudhary. J&K went on the defensive as Smaran farmed the strike. The hosts kept their fielders stationed near the ropes for the majority of the over, allowing Smaran easy singles. They would call for close-in catchers only when Choudhary was back on strike.

The ploy did not work on a pitch with little vitality left in it. As the light faded in Srinagar, Smaran reached his century off just 113 deliveries. J&K were almost done with their misery soon after, when Smaran was struck on the pads on 104 in the 90th over. Then, Nazir’s most decisive no-ball of the day was announced at the ground in the form of the fateful buzzer.

Smaran took it as an invitation to accelerate. After reaching his century, he smacked 26 off his next 18 deliveries. He danced down the track and swung through the line with abandon. Barring this little period, he had been more cautious but still productive with his boundary-scoring throughout. He collected 15 fours and five sixes during his innings.

Smaran’s partner Choudhary found himself on strike for the final over of the day. Part-time spinner Pundir came on and flighted the ball. Choudhary swung one of them over mid-off for his sole boundary of the day. Then, Samran was back at the crease.

He consulted the umpire to confirm it was the last over, then played out its final two deliveries. He would have been looking to secure his return tomorrow, to grow RoI’s sizeable lead. As he walked off with Choudhary at stumps, though, his job was, maybe, done already.