India vs England 2021, 1st Test Day 3: Talking points as Pujara-Pant heroics save India’s drowning batting lineup

^{Cheteshwar Pujara (left) and Rishabh Pant (right).}

With a hefty aggregate on the board, England players- Dom Bess and Jack Leach walked the pitch on Day 3 when England were 555/8 (180). Soon the tail-enders were dismissed, and England put a total of 578 runs on the board, following which Indian batsmen walked down the pitch for their first innings.

However, England bowlers outplayed the Indian batsmen, and Team India was seen struggling in their home ground.

As Team India finished Day 3 with 257-6 (74 Ov), we look at the highlights from the day’s play.

Indian openers’ slumped

Rohit Sharma’s not-so-promising performance with the bat continued, and Shubman Gill’s fine form concluded after a good catch from James Anderson. Both Sharma and Gill fell cheaply and became the victim to Jofra Archer’s bowling.

Pujara-Pant stand

After the unwanted batting performance from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane; Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant rescued the drowning Indian Team. Together they wove a 119-run partnership after which Pujara was dismissed at 73. Soon after, Pant also got dismissed after playing a lion-hearted knock of 91 runs.

Bossy Bess

While India’s offie R Ashwin had difficulty spinning the bowl, the visitor’s off-spinner did it with quite ease. In fact, he did the trick for England as he scalped four major Indian wickets- Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant (wk). Besides, he maintained a phenomenal economy of 2.4.

Also read: India vs England 2021: “I love batting with Rishabh Pant” says Cheteshwar Pujara