England vs India, 3rd Test, Day 1: Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane Help India Finish on a High

Day first of England vs India 3rd Test at Trent Bridge went to the visitors as they batted their heart out and ended the day’s play on 307 for six. It is mainly possible due to impressive knocks by skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane. Some outstanding batting effort by the visiting team allowed them to post over 300 on day one in Nottingham on August 18.

It was the English skipper Joe Root, who won the toss and opted to field. Surprisingly, Kohli in the toss stated that they would have batted had they won the toss.

Murali Vijay was dropped from the playing XI after a couple of disastrous performances. Shikhar Dhawan was brought back to the XI yet again at the expense of Vijay.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant also made his Test debut after Dinesh Karthik sustained an injury ahead of the third Test.

Good start provided by Dhawan and Rahul:

Dhawan and Rahul began proceedings with some excellent shots all over the ground. It was wonderful strokeplay by both the batsmen.

Dhawan, in particular, struck some exquisite shots and raced his way to 35. He was eventually dismissed by Chris Woakes as he went for yet another drive. Rahul was also dismissed in quick time as Woakes trapped him right in front with a brilliant inswinging delivery.

Cheteshwar Pujara was the next man to go as Woakes hurried him with a short delivery. He tried to hook it straight over the ropes. However, he didn’t manage the middle of the bat and was caught by the square leg fielder.

India went to lunch on 82 for three and required a good partnership between Kohli and Rahane in the post-lunch session.

The two modern-day greats started gaining in confidence after started tackling the English bowlers with utmost comfort.

Both played some wonderful shots and helped India recover from a precarious situation. Rahane who had been quite ordinary ahead of the third Test needed to score some runs to keep his place in the playing XI.

England vs India 2018: Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane shared a huge partnership

Rahane started growing in confidence after smashing some excellent shots. He drove and cut to perfection and looked in command of proceedings.

Kohli on the other hand also struck some gorgeous shots as the duo shared a 100-run partnership between them. It was high-class batting. After reaching his fifty, Rahane became very aggressive and smashed some wonderful shots.

However, he was caught by Alastair Cook in the slip cordon after Rahane went for an expansive drive. James Anderson eventually dismissed Rahane on 81.

On the other hand, Kohli was slowly and steadily milking runs and was nearing a well deserved century. However, a false shot against Adil Rashid brought about his downfall just three runs short of a well deserved century.

Debutant Rishabh Pant came out in the middle and smashed his second ball in Test career out of the fence for a huge six. He slowly gained in confidence and shared a good partnership with Hardik Pandya. The latter left the deliveries pretty well and played second fiddle to Pant.

The southpaw Pant looked in impressive touch. However, it was Anderson who sent back Pandya to the pavilion of the last ball bowled on day one.

England Vs India, 3rd Test: Brief Scores

India 1st innings 307/6 in 87 overs (Virat Kohli 97, Ajinkya Rahane 81, Chris Woakes 3/75)