IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Rohit scores fifty as India reach 93/3 at lunch on Day 1

Rohit Sharma (Pic: File Pic)

Skipper Rohit Sharma's unbeaten half-century was a sigh of relief for the hosts after India lost early blows. England pacer Mark Wood shone brightly as he helped his side to register three wickets for 93 runs at lunch on day one of the IND vs ENG 3rd Test.

Wood single-handedly bagged two wickets for 26 runs and spinner Tom Hartley accompanied him by picking the wicket of Rajat Patidar for just five runs.

Despite the fall of wickets, Rohit Sharma stood strong and continued to bat. Ravindra Jadeja shouldered him to steady the ship for India on day one of IND VS ENG 3rd Test.

Also Read: IN PHOTOS | IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Here's all you need to know

India was jolted early by Wood's express pace and movement off the surface which saw the home team's best batter in the series Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) walking back without contributing much. Shubman Gill might have come to this match on the back of a match-winning hundred at Visakhapatnam but Wood had his number here for a nought.

Gill, who was beaten around the off-stump with a nip-backer, pushed a delivery that moved away with hard hands and Ben Foakes completed the easiest of the catches behind the stumps.
Gill's stay lasted for just nine balls.

India's woes worsened when No. 4 Rajat Patidar, who too had a few nervous moments against the England pacers, was outdone by a delivery that seemed to have stopped a bit after hitting the deck off spinner Hartley.

Also Read: "Rahul Dravid to continue as India's head coach till T20 World Cup", confirms BCCI secretary Jay Shah

Patidar could not control his stroke as he ended up lobbing the ball to Ben Duckett at short cover, and India were at an uncomfortable 33 for 3 inside the first 10 overs.

However, Rohit and Jadeja's unbeaten partnership of 56 runs helped India to push England back

But, Rohit, who needed some runs here after below-par outings in the previous matches, had a couple of moments of fortune as well. Wood pinged on his helmet grill with a snorter, and then he survived a leg-before decision off James Anderson as DRS spotted a thin inside edge.

A few overs later, Joe Root spilled a tough chance at first slip off Hatley when Rohit was on 27. But at the other end, Jadeja looked composed during his 42-ball innings and both will have more work to do in the second session.

The absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul provided opportunities for Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel to step up in the IND vs ENG 3rd Test.

IND vs ENG 3rd Test Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson

(With PTI Inputs)