Captain Rohit Sharma looked gutted as he watched his batting partners walk back to the pavilion one after the other in a horror first hour on Day 1 of the 3rd Test between India and England. India were reduced to 33 for 3 inside the first 10 overs as England bowlers Mark Wood and Tom Harley got the early breakthroughs.
Ravindra Jadeja was sent in at No. 5 to do the repair job along with his captain Rohit as India were dealt three early blows on the opening day of the crucial 3rd Test. | IND vs ENG, Rajkot Test Day 1 Scorecard |
The pitch report from the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot was encouraging to the batters as the hardness of the surface was talked about in the lead-up to the toss. Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat in a bid to give India’s slightly inexperienced batting unit the best chance to make merry in good batting conditions.
However, India were jolted early, losing 3 quick wickets in a span of 49 deliveries. Ben Stokes, playing his 100th Test, was chuffed as he might not have expected 3 wickets as early as the first hour when he lost the toss and conceded that England would have also opted to bat had the rub of green gone his way in Rajkot.
MARK WOOD JOLTS INDIA
The first to go was Yashasvi Jaiswal, the double centurion from the 2nd Test in Vizag. Yashasvi got off the mark with a terrific sraight drive, but he was undone in the 4th over when he poked at a delivery that angled away from him.
With his tail up, Mark Wood was steaming in and he soon had his second victim. Shubman Gill, who saved his place in the side with a game-changing hundred in the 2nd Test, was dismissed for 0 as concerns over his form sparked again. Gill’s tendency to play with hard hands was in display again as he got a thick edge to the wicketkeeper after Wood got one to shape away from him.
The England fast bowler ran in and bowled a long first spell in Rajkot as he justifed his selection in the side for the 3rd Test.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley opened his account early as Ben Stokes’s decision to introduce spin inside the first 10 overs worked wonders. Hartley, the hero of England’s win in Hyderabad, got a lof sharp turn in the first hour. He caught Rajat Patidar by surprise as a ball held in the pitch for long and decieved the Indian batter, who got a leading edge to the short cover fielder when he was batting on 5.
Ben Stokes’s captaincy was on point, once again as he had boundary riders for Rohit Sharma when the India captain was trying to pull and hook Mark Wood and close in fielders for the inexperienced India batters.
Notably, India made 4 changes to their XI as they handed Test debuts to Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan.
