India vs England 3rd test: England annihilates India to take full control on 1st day itself.!!

With the visitors winning the second test match at the “Mecca” of cricket, “Lords”, all eyes were set on how India performs in the upcoming test match. Turns out the squad has had a tough time getting through the English bowlers. India was bowled out for 78 runs itself in their first innings of the 3^rd test. It was an absolutely clinical performance by the English pacers, which was hard to bear for the Indians. The pain was then piled on by the English openers who went on to score 130 glorious runs at the end of the day’s play. Here’s a look at how the day panned out: – 

1^st session: – 

The entire day belonged to England and so did the first session. In the first over of the innings itself, KL Rahul nicked the ball through to the keeper. It was off Jimmy Anderson and Jos Butler to a comfortable catch. Next in was Pujara. Pujara had a stage set but again failed to make a mark scoring 1 run of 9 balls. When Pujara went off similarly as Rahul, the scorecard read 2-2. King Kohli walked in, but much to the dismay of Indian fans Kohli too departed! Next in was Jinx, the deputy captain. Having shown some form in the previous innings, the fans expected Rohit and Jinx, the Mumbai duo to fire. But it was not the case. Ajinkya tried to build the partnership, not before Ollie Robinson took him out! Lunch was called at Rahane’s wicket. 

2^nd session: – 

The second session too was bossed by the Brits. At the very beginning of the session, Ollie Robinson took the wicket of the last recognized batsman Rishabh Pant. Rishabh was caught in the slips slashing hard to a ball outside off stump. His game mindset was questioned after it was seen that Rishabh had thrown his wicket away. Next in was Sir Jadeja. But by then the tide was over the head. Before Jadeja could find the very middle of the bat, England struck the final nail in the coffin. Rohit Sharma, the resilient opener was sent back. And then, the 37^th and 38^th over derailed the entire Indian innings. Sam Curran and Craig Overton cleaned up the Indian tail within a matter of the above-mentioned overs. 78 all out!! It was hard to believe but this had happened.  English openers then came in to bat.  

The English openers boosted with confidence showed intent and application right from the front. They were helped a bit by the Indian Bowlers spraying the ball around but it doesn’t overshadow the fact that they played very well.  

3^rd session: – 

The 3^rd session belonged to the English openers. Burns and Hameed were at their A-game. They very well tackled the Indian quadrat. Be it Siraj, Shami, Bumrah, or Ishant, the openers played well. The illustrious cover drives were a treat to watch. Rory Burns was initially aggressive but then turned passive. With this, the day ended with England on 120-0. How the Indian Bowlers are going to make a comeback today is the big question? But with the kind of character that Indians have shown in recent times, I’m sure they’ll bounce back!!