Virat Kohli likely to miss third Test against England

India and England are currently engaged in a five-match Test series that has seen both sides put in stellar performances. However, team India has missed the services of star batter Virat Kohli in the first two Tests of the series as he opted out citing personal reasons as he has been spending time with his family.

However, Kohli could miss the third match against England as well, scheduled to be played in Rajkot from February 15. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) still has no idea about the batter’s availability.

“The call will be entirely on Kohli. The board respects his personal space. If he agrees to play any part in the series, then there’s nothing like that. But it will be his call,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by the Times of India. 

Meanwhile, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, who both missed the second Test, continue to recover from their injuries. While Jadeja is unliklely to return in the series, there is optimism around Rahul's chances to make it in time for the third game. 

“Rahul seems to have been recovering well. There’s a strong chance that he will be back for the third Test match,” the source said.

India aim to level series against England

The first Test of the series was won by England in Hyderabad by 28 runs as an exceptional knock by Ollie Pope helped the visitors gain the lead in the series. However, the Indian team got off to a brilliant start in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.

Batting first, India posted a total of 396 runs after a magnificent double ton by Yashasvi Jaiswal. As for England, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir, and Rehan Ahmed were successful with three wickets each to their names while Tom Hartley took one wicket.

Coming out to bat, England got off to a good start as opener Zak Crawley scored 76 runs in 78 deliveries but Jasprit Bumrah’s six-fer helped India limit the visitors to 253, taking a 143-run lead. The hosts put forth a magnificent performance on Day 3, with star batter Shubman Gill coming into his own once again, scoring 104 runs in 147 deliveries.