Rohit & Jadeja rescues India with classy 100s , Sarfaraz impresses as India reach 326/5 v Eng in 3rd test

 

With the series 1-1 the 3rd test between India and England started at Rajkot on 15 February.  India played 2 debutants in Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel the keeper . Jadeja is back after injury and for England Mark Wood is back for a spinner .

India were rattled right at the start  . India's innings suffered at the start.  The team lost 3 wickets for only 33 runs.  Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja managed the team from there.  They scored superb hundreds.  Sarfaraz Khan played a fifty innings in his debut Test.  At the end of the first day with the bat of these three men, India's scored 326 for 5 wickets.

 Rohit won the toss and decided to bat first.  There are considerable cracks in the pitch.  He knew that he had to score big runs in the first innings.   Jaiswal also hit couple of glorious straight fours early on.  But he got out for 10 runs caught in the slips off Mark Wood.   India was shocked as he got out.  Although he scored a century in the previous Test, Shubman Gill did not get a run in the first innings of this Test.  He was caught behind off Wood for zero runs.  Rajat Patidar had a poor outing .He was dismissed by Tom Hartley for 5 runs.  India fell under pressure after losing 3 wickets for 33 runs.

 Jadeja came to bat with Rohit in a difficult situation.  Jadeja started confidently at home.  Rohit also started to change gears .  He knew that he had to take chances . He was dropped by Root who missed a sharp chance .

Once Wood's ball hit Rohit's helmet grill.  Rohit's attention was not lost.  He played his own game and started unleashing glorious shots . He was particularly severe on the spinners . 

 Rohit scored a half century before the lunch break.  Both batters pick up where they left off before the break.  England's spinners bowled most of the time in the second session.  Rohit and Jadeja handled them well.  The two batsmen were occasionally playing big shots.  There was no rush.  Jadeja also scored a half century after Rohit.  After that, his familiar expression of joy is seen.  Rajkot is Jadeja's home ground.  He averaged 134 in first-class cricket at this ground.  Jadeja had no problem batting on a familiar pitch.

Rohit was slowly moving towards his century.  Rohit could not score a hundred before the tea break.  If he wanted, he could have done it by playing big shots but did not take the risk.  He scored a hundred after the tea break.  He scored a hundred in Tests a year later.

 Even after the century, Rohit's style of play has not changed.  Forced to leave six fielders on the leg side, England planned to bounce him continuously.  Rohit lost his patience and was dismissed for 131 runs which he was caught by Stokes off a miscued pull off Wood .  After that, Sarfraz came to bat.  It didn't seem like he was  playing his debut Test.  Sabil started batting from the beginning.  He batted aggressively especially against the spinners.  It was understood, how well Sarfraz has shaped  himself in domestic cricket.  He scored a half century in just 48 balls playing mostly sweeps and lofted shots off spin.  

 It seemed that Sarfraz would score a hundred if he stayed but Jadeja made a mistake in his own 99 runs.  Sarfraz was called for runs and did not go himself.  Sarfaraz could not return after walking out of the crease and he was  run out by Wood's direct hit .  He played a breathtaking innings of 62 runs off 66 balls.  Sarfraz returned disappointed.

 Jadeja, however, did not miss his century.  He scored another century at home.  Jadeja is still at the crease at the end of the day.  He is playing for 110 runs along with Kuldeep . Wood turned out to be the best bowler of the day with 3 wickets as India closed on 326/5