England vs India 2018, 5th Test: Hosts Finish Day Three on a Strong Note

Hosts England finished day three the 5^th Test in a commanding position. They are well set to win the series 4-1 after a topsy-turvy 3^rd day’s play against India. However, earlier in the day it was a great batting performance from the Indian lower order as India posted a competitive 292 on the board. It was a great partnership of 77 runs between debutant Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja which got India back on track.

India made a comeback courtesy Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja:

Vihari scored a fine half-century on his Test debut and looked in good touch for the major part of the day He was eventually dismissed on 56 by Moeen Ali. He faced 124 balls during his vigil.

Well, in the process, he also struck seven fours and a six. Despite his dismissal, Jadeja on the other end continued his prowess. He started taking the attacking approach against the English bowlers.

Jadeja ran down the track and smashed James Anderson for a terrific six. He looked in great touch all through his innings. During his knock, Jadeja struck 86 off 166 deliveries which were studded with 11 fours and a six.

Anderson, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran bagged a couple of wickets each.

England in a commanding position

The hosts began well with a 27-run partnership between Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings. The latter was dismissed by a peach of a delivery from Mohammed Shami.

It was Moeen Ali, who came out in the crease and carried on his resistance in the first innings. Yet again he missed a few to start with. But he didn’t give away his wicket.

However, it was India’s top scorer Jadeja, who castled Moeen with a pearler. The ball pitched on the rough zipped through the surface to disturb the timbers.

From there on, it was former and current skipper who rebuild the innings and took England to a comfortable position by the end of the day’s play. It was a great display of batsmanship by Joe Root as he struck some sensational shots.

Cook, on the other hand, was a little sedate but slowly grew in confidence. He rode his luck to an unbeaten at the end of the day’s play.

England vs India, 5th Test; Day Three – Brief Scores:

England 1^st innings 332 all-out in 112.1 overs (Jos Buttler 89, Alastair Cook 71, Ravindra Jadeja 4/79)

India 292 all-out in 95 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 86, Hanuma Vihari 56, Moeen Ali 2/50)

England 2nd innings 114/2 in 43 overs (Alastair Cook 46*, Mohammed Shami 1/32)

England lead by 154 runs