Published: Nov 28, 2016, 03:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 28, 2016, 03:20 PM (IST)
England’s No. 3 specialist Joe Root opened the batting with captain Alastair Cook in the second innings of the third Test against India at Mohali. Reports say that the regular opener Haseeb Hameed suffered an injury to his finger during a net session, and is due for an x-ray. There are no confirmed reports whether he will bat in the last session if England lose early wickets. All the same, India posted 417 in the first innings, taking a healthy lead of 134. At the start of Day Three, India were stuttering at 271 for 6, trailing by 12 runs. Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs England 3rd Test at Mohali
Star all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin continued his stellar performance and scored a resolute 72, studded with 11 delightful boundaries. Meanwhile, it was Ravindra Jadeja who took centre stage and went all guns blazing. In 170 balls he faced, Jadeja scored 90 runs and added spark to the late-order blitz. His innings included 10 fours and a massive six. Further, Jayant Yadav added finishing touches by scoring his maiden half-century and added 33 runs for the 9th wicket with Umesh Yadav. On the other hand, Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid took a five-for and four-for respectively to restrict India under 500 on a belter of track.
England, however, will miss Hameed’s services at the top of the order. Termed ‘Baby Boycott’, the resilience with which he batted in the first two matches was indeed commendable. But the visitors boast of a strong batting line-up. Hence, they will look to eliminate the deficit and put up respectable total for India to chase in the fourth innings.
