England vs India 2021, 3rd Test, Day 3 Stats Review: Rohit Sharma’s stellar run, England’s massive first-innings lead and other stats

After suffering humiliation in the first two days, Team India made an astonishing comeback on Day 3 of the ongoing third Test at the Headingly in Leeds. Batting 80 overs in the day, the visitors lost just two wickets and were 215/2 at stumps. Notably, this is the same track where India got skittled out for 78 in the first innings.

However, Indian batters made great utilization of the second chance and added some spice to the contest. Although they are still trailing by 139 runs, England’s victory certainly doesn’t look inevitable. Hence, both teams have a job in hand on Day 4 and fans must brace themselves to witness some exciting battle between the bat and the red cherry.

Speaking of the proceedings of Day 3, England resumed at their overnight score of 423/8 but could add just nine runs to their total, bundling out for 432 runs. Nevertheless, they earned a massive first-innings lead of 354 runs and not many backed India to make a bounce back. However, as the saying goes, the only thing certain in cricket is uncertainty.

Although KL Rahul got out for just eight runs, his opening partner Rohit Sharma continued his sensational run and slammed a brilliant half-century. However, the star of the day undoubtedly was Cheteshwar Pujara. It was a test of Pujara’s character as he has been short of runs lately. Moreover, he bagged a duck in the first innings.

Nevertheless, a different avatar of the veteran batter was seen on Day 3 as he was more aggressive in his approach than usual. While he tackled the challenging deliveries with precision, the 33-year-old didn’t mind dispatching the loose deliveries for boundaries. At stumps, he was unbeaten at 91 off 180 balls and it will be interesting to see how far he goes.

Besides him, skipper Virat Kohli also batted brilliantly and walked back unbeaten at 45. Day 4 indeed has a lot in prospect and it could even decide the fate of the encounter. While England will continue their hunt for wickets, the visitors would like to bat as long as possible.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from the England vs India 3rd Test Day 3:

3 – Rohit Sharma now has 10 scores of 50 or plus as an opener against England, third-most for any Indian. Only Sunil Gavaskar (22) and Virender Sehwag (14) are ahead of him on this list.

8 – Rohit now has eight scores of over 50 since he started opening for India in Test matches. England’s Rory Burns is the only opener with as many scores of 50 in this period.

3– For the third time, Rohit faced over 500 deliveries in a Test series. Home series against South Africa and England in 2019 and 2021 are the other two series where Rohit so many deliveries.

5 – This was the fifth instance of KL Rahul getting dismissed for single figures in both innings of a Test match.

62 – Rohit Sharma recorded his 62nd six in Test cricket, the fourth-most for any Indian. Only Virender Sehwag (91), MS Dhoni (78), and Sachin Tendulkar (69) are ahead of him in this tally.

5 – England recorded a first-innings lead of 354 runs, fifth-most for them against India in Test matches.

2 – Mohammed Shami now has 10 international four-wicket hauls in SENA countries, third joint-most for any Indian pacer. Kapil Dev and Ishant Sharma also have as many four-fers. Zaheer Khan leads this list with 12 four-wicket hauls.

1 – At stumps, Cheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten at 91. This is his highest score since his 193 against Australia in January 2019.