3rd Test: Indian batsmen dig in!

Cheteshwar Pujara en route his 91 against England during the second innings at Leeds yesterday. Pic/AP,PTI

An under-fire Cheteshwar Pujara played one of his most aggressive knocks as the Indian top order showed plenty of resolve to reach 215 for two and keep the third Test against England alive with two more days remaining.

Pujara, who has been pilloried of late for his ultra-defensive approach and castigated for not showing enough "intent", smashed 16 boundaries in his 91 not out off 180 balls on the third day.

With this knock, he overshadowed the two megastars in skipper Virat Kohli and the supremely-talented Rohit Sharma.

Pujara has already done enough to give his career a new lease of life.

With two days left in the game, England remain favourites despite the pitch being good for batting as India still need 139 runs to avoid innings defeat, after the hosts scored 432 in their first innings to gain a mammoth 354-run lead.

Rohit Sharma sets off for a run even as he drops his right glove. Pic/Bipin Patel

If Rohit's (59 off 156 balls) near-impregnable defence during the first hour in all games has been a revelation in this series, Pujara's array of attacking stokes will certainly leave his critics and fans amazed.

In fact, during the pair's 82-run stand after KL Rahul's dismissal at the stroke of lunch, it was Pujara who looked the more aggressive of two with strokes, which helped Rohit play as per his own strategy.

It did help that the normally accurate James Anderson (19-8-51-0) fed him with freebies on his pads to give him a head start but very rarely would one find the man from Saurashtra playing a pull shot off Ollie Robinson (18-4-40-1) to complete a half-century, which was a big statement for his detractors.

A generous applause from his skipper Kohli (45 batting off 94 balls) was an indication what Pujara's return to form meant for the team in general.

The best part was Pujara's "intent" of running the singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard moving. It seemed that there was a lot of pent-up anger in him about always being the "fall guy" whose place is questioned in the side despite the fact that others also go through poor run of form.

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