Twitter Reactions: Team India in cruise control of the 3rd Test with a 300-lead and 8 wickets in hand

Team India started day 2 on 307/6 and concluded it on 124/2 and what happened in between those 77 overs has effectively shaped the fortunes of the Test match. Rishabh Pant couldn’t continue for longer than 24 runs and once he was dismissed, they added just 6 runs before being bowled out on 329. When England walked out to bat the pitch and conditions assisted swing bowling and the Indians made the best use of it to bowl the hosts out for 161 and take a 168-run first innings lead.

Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings had a fifty-run partnership and batting looked easy. The Indian new-ball bowlers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah needed their first spell to understand the sort of line and length they should be bowling. It was Ishant Sharma who took the ball after the interval and got Cook to edge one when he was on 29, the very next ball of the innings that Bumrah bowled, Jennings nicked a really wide delivery once again to Pant.

Ishant didn’t let County star, Ollie Pope settle in and accounted for him when England were on 75. Hardik Pandya who came into the attack early since Ravichandran Ashwin had trouble with his hip and couldn’t continue after his first over changed the complexion of the game with just one spell. The same bowler who was criticised by legends like Michael Holding and questioned about his contribution for the team picked up five wickets in just 6 overs.

Pandya was on the money with the first ball and dismissed Joe Root and he stopped only with the wicket of Adil Rashid which helped him attain his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The way he swung the ball surprised most and English batsmen hardly had a clue.

When Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul walked out to bat for the second time, there was a positive intent in their game. All the shots they played had a lot of authority, they batted like a team that had a big lead behind their back. Though towards the end of the day they lost both of them a lead of 292 with 8 wickets in hand definitely places them well ahead in the contest.

Here is how Twitterati reacted to the Indian team’s strong performance:

I was looking forward to seeing England Bat today under the pressure of a bit of scoreboard pressure…. They haven’t handled it well for a long while and showed us today it’s still a huge concern …. #ENDvIND

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 19, 2018

Bowlers did great for team India but most importantly india was able to do was to play the new ball well. For me that’s giving advantage to Indian team which wasn’t the case before this test match #ENDvIND

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) August 19, 2018

Great to see two young guns @hardikpandya7 and @RishabPant777 do so well today. A brilliant performance by #TeamIndia in the field. 👍

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) August 19, 2018

And now it’s England’s turn to face the ire o English conditions!But a lot of it has to do w/Root’s decision o tossing it away-so grin & bear it fellas-there’s still plenty o Crkt left w/vagaries o Eng weather hovering around-at long last Indns seem happy & Peaceful..InshaAllah!

— Bishan Bedi (@BishanBedi) August 19, 2018

Well done with the cherry @hardikpandya7. Showed some character. Go well with the bat as well .. boy! Game on… #ENGvIND

— Pragyan Prayas Ojha (@pragyanojha) August 19, 2018

Fantastic cricket, both in front and behind the wickets. Congratulations @hardikpandya7 and @RishabPant777 on your respective 5 wicket hauls! Let’s nip this in the bud now. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/lNDVRbQFPc

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 19, 2018

10 wickets in the session. Fantastic from India. Hardik Pandya was the standout with that magnificent spell. Firmly in India ‘s control as of now.

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 19, 2018

As good as England were last week the last 2 sessions today have been as bad as I have seen for a long while …. scratch my balding head how consistently Inconsistent our Test Team is …. #OnOn #ENDvIND

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 19, 2018

Wonderful effort by India to bowl out England in this extended 2nd session. Brilliant stuff from Pandya and the rest of bowlers for the probing lines and 168 is a very significant lead. Hope the batsman now capitalise and we have the match firmly in our control

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 19, 2018

Funny old game .. mentioned on here last week that Pandya looks a good cricketer .. lots of India supporters flew in with ‘rubbish , he shouldn’t be in the team ‘ 5-25

— David 'Bumble' Lloyd (@BumbleCricket) August 19, 2018

Five wickets for Pandya. And I was advocating for his exclusion for a frontline batsman. Ouch. 🙈😐😇🙏 #EngvInd

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 19, 2018

Great spell @hardikpandya7 first 5 wicket haul in test cricket.. wish you many more.. Go india 🇮🇳 💪👏👏👏👏

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) August 19, 2018

Is it called "Slips" because the ball slips out of your hand.#ENGvIND

— Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (@LaxmanSivarama1) August 19, 2018

Another massive session for India. Lead almost 300. 150 more and England will be out of this one. Loads of time left so that’s not an issue at all. One good morning session and 2-1 will be all the more likely.

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) August 19, 2018

Great day for India, Kohli and Pujara will score good tomorrow hopefully #ENGvIND

— Sushant (@Sushant196) August 19, 2018

A lead of 292 with 8 wickets in hand! What a day for Team India! The modern day tattooed Kapil Dev does it in style! Well done, Hardik Pandya! #ENGvIND

— PP (@PrashantSport) August 19, 2018

India's day
2nd innings 124/2
Lead by 292 runs.
Indian bowlers took 10 wickets in single session. #EngvInd

— Shivam🇮🇳 (@shivam_suthar7) August 19, 2018

India are in a dominating position. They are effectively 292/2 with Virat on crease, having three days to spare. Seems that we will make a comeback 2-1 into the series! #ENGvIND

— Sparsh Telang (@_cricketsparsh) August 19, 2018

292 ahead, 8 wickets in the shed and two full days left. English conditions never seemed more Indian-like #ENGvIND

— Hari Sadanandan (@iamharry_88) August 19, 2018

Was dropping Sam Curran a mistake ? #ENGvIND #PoliteEnquiries #testcricket

— Zicketer (@zicketer) August 19, 2018

What a day, TOMORROW IS GOING TO BE BIG! #ENGvIND

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) August 19, 2018

Have India considered the first two Tests as practice matches ? #ENGvIND #PoliteEnquiries #testcricket

— Zicketer (@zicketer) August 19, 2018

#EngvInd Amazing day of Test Cricket. This is how you play overseas. @imVkohli should get the credit for good captaincy.
A big reply to all critics.
Virat Keep Attacking. Be aggresive.

— Anurag Sinha (@anuragsinha1992) August 19, 2018

36 Runs unlucky you missed well Deserved fifty today but the way you played against Anderson Broad it's Treat to Watch @klrahul11 #ENGvIND

— TestCaptain (@TestCaptain1) August 19, 2018

Undoubtedly the Best Day of the Tour so far for India.

Visiterw will go to bed with a 292 run lead, A brilliant fightback after a lot of criticism #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/Qlp4EBrcYm

— Abhijeet (@TheYorkerBall) August 19, 2018

I am living for this Kohli/Stokes rivalry or whatever #ENGvIND

— Charise (@ChariseLeann) August 19, 2018

A better day for India but not a good day for England , long way to go though #EngvInd

— Newky (@Newky_Brown) August 19, 2018

Trent Bridge Test Day 2 Summary

INDIA MAKES A COMEBACK#EngvInd pic.twitter.com/Y0E8NqytST

— urstrulyKajal🇮🇳 (@BanarasiBasanti) August 19, 2018

Let's move on to Southampton#ENGvIND

— ಕೃಷ್ಣಕತೆ (@KrishnaKathe) August 19, 2018

Is Shardul Thakur the best test fielder never to have played a test ? #ENGvIND #PoliteEnquiries

— Zicketer (@zicketer) August 19, 2018

India have ensured that they cant lose this Test match from here on. Dominant performance from their batsmen and bowlers. Well played @imVkohli @hardikpandya7 @SDhawan25 @klrahul11 @cheteshwar1 @ajinkyarahane88 @ImIshant @MdShami11 @Jaspritbumrah93 @RishabPant777 #ENGvIND

— Nikhil Ram (@Nikhil_Rams) August 19, 2018