India v England, 1st Test Day 3: 5 Talking Points

The batting paradise at Rajkot held true to its word in the first Test match between India and England at Rajkot where the Indian batsmen piled on the runs on day 2. Cheteshwar Pujara was the star of the show as he smashed yet another century. Murali Vijay then went on to impress with some impressive batting acumen as well as he batted the entire day’s length with both Pujara and his skipper Virat Kohli in the final session as well. The England spinners went wicketless as the Indians went on a spree of run-scoring on the day. Here are five talking points from the recently-concluded day’s play.

1. Stuart Broad snaps Gautam Gambhir up early

The first few deliveries of the morning saw England well and truly on top of the Indian openers. While one realizes that Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes are by no means Mickey Mouse bowlers, it was clear that the Indians were going to find it difficult to bat in the first 30 minutes. However, one Indian batsman who did not have the composure required was Gautam Gambhir as he was trapped leg-before by the impressive Stuart Broad. The latter finally got one to nip back into Gambhir as the latter was on his way back to the haven of the dressing room.

2. Chris Woakes treats Pujara to a series of ‘chin music’

Cheteshwar Pujara has played most of his cricket at the Saurashtra Cricket Association in Rajkot. However, in spite of all this, Pujara also impressed quite a bit with some impressive batting. While he was making a mark with some free scoring abilities, it was going to be a baptism for Pujara nonetheless. The 28-year old was struck on the head a few times by Chris Woakes who had indeed made the decision to bang the ball in short to the right-handed batsman. He was struck on the head on three occasions only to pick himself back up and score a ton.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara is aided and abetted by the DRS again

The Decision Review System has been something that the Indians have not embraced in recent times. However, given the recent umpiring decisions in recent times, the BCCI finally made the decision to rope in the DRS for the series against England. Little did they know that it would be Cheteshwar Pujara who was going to be the one to be saved by the system. He was trapped by Zafar Ansari before using the DRS system to bail himself out. However, he was not lucky the second time of reckoning when he was picked up by Ben Stokes.

Also read – Twitter Reaction: Cheteshwar Pujara leads gritty Indian fightback

4. Vijay and Pujara form a partnership as England bowlers left with no answers

Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara were  perhaps the most impressive on the day as they battled for the most part. While Vijay had batted in excess of 500 minutes including the few minutes he had spent on the previous day, Pujara was in free flow with the bat. While Pujara exhibited some excessive bravery, it was Vijay who would eventually go on to steal the show as he smashed 126 runs, a knock that included 4 sixes, all of which came against spinners. Cheteshwar Pujara, on the other hand, was even more impressive as he was in free flow whilst batting. The duo stitched an important 209-run partnership.

5. Ineffective England spinners remain unsuccessful

In spite of Adil Rashid and Zafar Ansari picking up their long overdue wickets towards the close of play, the England spinners were rather ineffective on the day. They failed to pick wickets and trouble the batsmen as almost all batsmen who batted on the day looked at complete ease. In the end, it was only Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad who made amends with their bowling abilities. As mentioned earlier, despite losing wickets at the end of the day, the day belonged to the Indians.

Also read – Anushka Sharma and her camaraderie with Indian players