LONDON (AP) — Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal reached another century and was dropped again as India's lead over England reached 281 runs by tea on day three Saturday of the fifth test at the Oval.
Jaiswal made 118 after he was dropped three times.
Ravindra Jadeja was on 26 with Dhruv Jurel on 25 and India was 304-6 in its second innings.
India added 115 runs in the middle session for the loss of captain Shubman Gill, Karun Nair and Jaiswal.
Gill was out to the first delivery after lunch, plumb lbw to an in-swinger by Gus Atkinson. With 11 in his last bat of the series, Gill finished with 754 runs, passing Graham Gooch's 752 in 1990 for the most by any batter in an India-England series.
In the same over, Nair's index finger was crunched by Josh Tongue and it was taped up. But Nair, in obvious discomfort, never settled. He was dropped on 12 and eventually out for 17, his glove nicking behind Atkinson's extra bounce.
By then, Jaiswal already had his hundred, his second of the series, fourth against England, and sixth of his career.
He turned his 127th ball faced to point and was celebrating before he ran the single; leaping, running, and shaping his fingers into a heart.
Jaiswal played frantically for his 51 on Friday night and was dropped on 20 and 40. He was composed on Saturday, happy in the morning to let nightwatchman Akash Deep cut loose for a career-best 66 with 12 boundaries in their third-wicket stand of 107.
But as the day clouded over, England's seam attack, depleted of the injured Chris Woakes, discovered some nasty movement and Atkinson and Tongue came alive in the afternoon.
After drinks, Jaiswal was dropped on 110 by Ben Duckett at leg slip. It was the sixth drop in the innings, England's most in a home test since 2006 when it spilled six against Pakistan, also at the Oval.
Jaiswal added only eight more runs when he fell tamely a half-hour before tea for 118. He ramped Tongue straight to Jamie Overton at backward point.
Jaiswal used up 164 balls and hit 14 boundaries and, on Friday evening, two sixes. But he also used his luck to put India in a position to give England a tough chase.
Jadeja was on 24 when he was smashed on the foot by a Tongue yorker and given out, which was overturned on review.
He and Jurel continued the four-plus-runs-an-over pace that Deep and Jaiswal launched in the morning.
Atkinson had 3-99 and Tongue 2-100 at tea.
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The Associated Press
