Leeds: India set aside disappointment of the first innings to put up strong resistance in their second outing as they went to stumps on the third day of the third Test at 215/2 with Cheteshwar Pujara, batting on 91 and Virat Kohli batting on 45 here at Headingley. Though they are still 139 runs behind, their hopes of making England bat again look realistic now.
Opener Rohit Sharma scored 61 and added 82 for the second wicket with Pujara before he was out leg before. Skipper Kohli then added unbeaten 99 for the third wicket with the India No. 3 as India started to script a comeback.
India were 112-1 at tea on the third day with Rohit unbeaten on 59, his second fifty of the series following his fine 83 in a 151-run victory in the second Test at Lord’s that put India 1-0 ahead in this five-match series.
England, however, were left to rue being too slow to request a review of an lbw that would have meant Rohit was out for 39 had they got their request within the 15-second time limit.
When KL Rahul was brilliantly caught in the slips by Jonny Bairstow off Craig Overton on the stroke of lunch, India were 34-1. But England hopes that Rahul’s exit would spark another spectacular India slump were quelled by Rohit and Pujara.
Pujara struck Overton for two fours in three balls, a steer through gully followed by a textbook cover-drive.
England seamer Ollie Robinson twice thought he had Rohit lbw in the 30s, but what looked a good appeal when the opener had made 35 was overturned by an India review that showed the ball missing leg stump.
Worse followed for England when Rohit on 39, with India 73-1, was given not out to a straighter delivery only for home captain Joe Root to be told by the umpires he’d ran out of time when he signalled for a review.
Replays indicated the ball would have hit middle stump.
Sam Curran had no more success in dismissing the second-wicket duo than England’s frontline quicks, with Rohit driving the left-arm swing bowler down the ground for four en route to a 125-ball fifty.
England resumed on 423-8 after Root had made 121, his sixth Test century already this year. However, the tail added just nine runs on Friday.
Brief Scores: India 78 and 215/2 in 80 overs (C. Pujara batting 91, R. Sharma 61, V. Kohli batting 45) vs England 432 all out in 132.2 overs (J. Root 121, D. Malan 70, H. Hameed 68, R. Burns 61, M. Shami 4/95, J.Bumrah 2/59, M Siraj 2/86, R Jadeja 2/88).
