Rohit Sharma always had aggressive strings in his batting bow. But it was his innate defensive steel during the 196-ball 131 (14x4, 3x6) that ultimately proved invaluable to India, which finished the opening day of the third Test against England on 326 for five at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Thursday.
Other than the first hour of play, when the early moisture resulted in some exaggerated turn and uneven bounce, the ball plopped gently onto the middle of Rohit’s bat as he brought up a largely fluent hundred off 157 balls, his 11th in Tests and ninth at home.
India vs England, 3rd Test Day 1 Scorecard
England had employed the short-ball tactic against Rohit earlier in the day but did not adhere to it for an extended period. And when it did — albeit a few hours too late — it prised out Rohit, who succumbed to a meek pull shot off an innocuous short ball from Mark Wood. But not before Rohit had put on a 204-run fourth-wicket stand with Ravindra Jadeja, who also scored his fourth Test hundred upon return.
These two counter-attacked sensibly after a top-order collapse. It was evident during the afternoon session when James Anderson found a hint of reverse swing, beating Rohit and Jadeja, occasionally moving the old ball both ways.
But the experienced pair refrained from taking unnecessary risks and saw him off to reach the hundred-run partnership in the first wicket-less session of this series.
One also couldn’t overlook Ben Stokes’ tactical acumen during Anderson’s bowling spells. This was evident through clever field placements, such as positioning two catching midwickets in close proximity for Rohit and Jadeja. Additionally, a short mid-on and forward square-leg were strategically employed for the left-hander.
He even greeted debutant Sarfaraz Khan with a short-leg, two midwickets, two deep fine-legs, and a deep square-leg, encouraging Wood to exploit the Mumbai batter’s well-chronicled weakness against the short ball.
IND vs ENG Highlights, 3rd Test Day 1
But once he overcame the early nerves, Sarfaraz showed signs of getting into the sort of groove he has become accustomed to in the domestic circuit of late.
He raced to 62 off 66, riding on booming sweep shots, before a spot of miscommunication with Jadeja led to him being run out.
Shaky start
Earlier, India made four changes to its playing XI, with Mohammed Siraj and Jadeja returning and Dhruv Jurel too making his debut. After being asked to bowl, Wood and Tom Hartley reduced India to 33 for three, and it would have been 47 for four had Joe Root caught Rohit at first slip when he was on 27. Wood justified his selection early when he nicked off Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in quick succession before Rajat Patidar chipped left-arm spinner Hartley to cover.
Wood’s extra pace proved to be the X-factor on a pitch that wasn’t so flat after all, as evidenced by Hartley’s wicket-ball that got stuck in the pitch.
Fightback
India promoted Jadeja to number five to stem the rot, given there were two debutants in the top seven. Adding to England’s strength was that, unlike the first Test, Wood had the support of a second seamer in Anderson, which allowed him to bowl flat out without worrying about leaking runs at the other end.
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Stokes generally had mid-off and mid-on up when Hartley was bowling to Rohit, and despite the Indian captain making his intentions clear with bold strokeplay, Stokes didn’t put the field back. Rohit reached his 17th Test fifty off 71 balls, even as Jadeja got off to a scratchy start.
He eventually seemed to break free courtesy of a half-tracker and full toss from Root just before lunch, which he duly dispatched to the fence.
By now, the pitch had settled down, with runs starting to flow, setting the template for the remainder of the day.
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