On the basis of centuries by Indian captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, India scored 326 runs at the loss of five wickets in Rajkot on the first day of the third Test against England. Rohit scored 131 runs, while Jadeja remained at the crease after scoring 110 runs.
Test debutant Sarfaraz Khan presented a brilliant batting example and played an important inning of 62 runs. Sarfaraz was looking brilliant with the bat, but he was run out. Rohit won the toss and decided to bat first.
India had a very bad start. In the first hour itself, three Indian batsmen returned to the pavilion with a score of 33. India got its first blow in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal was out after scoring 10 runs. After that Shubman Gill could not even open an account. Rajat Patidar was out after scoring five runs.
Mark Wood gave two important blows to India in the first session. He dismissed Jaiswal and Gill. Spinner Tom Hartley gave the third blow to India. He dismissed Patidar. After this, Rohit and Jadeja decorated India’s innings.
Rohit Sharma hit 14 fours and three sixes in his 196-ball innings. Mark Wood also dismissed Rohit. Sarfaraz, who came to the crease after Rohit, batted intelligently and started scoring fours on the weak ball. He completed his half-century at a strike rate of more than 100.
Sarfaraz could have played a big innings today, but due to lack of coordination with Jadeja, he was run out at the non-striker end. Mark Wood’s direct throw uprooted the stumps and Sarfaraz had to come out. In his place, Kuldeep Yadav has been sent to bat as night watchman.
India has a lot to do on the second day also. In batting, apart from Jadeja, India still has debutant wicketkeeper batsman Dhruv Jurel and experienced all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin. India will try to reach close to 500 in the first innings.
The most successful bowler from England was Mark Wood. He bowled 17 overs and took three wickets for 69 runs. Tom Hartley had a breakthrough. Improvised spinner Joe Root proved to be the most expensive. He gave away 68 runs in 13 overs.