The reason why the Indian players are wearing black arm-bands at Trent Bridge

The third Test match between England and India is underway at Trent Bridge as the visitors are looking to make amends for their poor show at Lord’s. Joe Root won the toss and put the opposition in to bat first with a hope of extracting the early swing. The openers, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, have so far done well and have avoided playing any false shot. However, they are also playing this game with the black armbands on their right hand.

Ajit Wadekar, one of the best Indian captains, passed away earlier this week and the team is wearing armbands a tribute to him. They also had observed a two-minute silence the next day of his demise before starting to train in Nottingham on Thursday. Wadekar was the skipper of the team when the Indian team triumphed in England and West Indies for the first time in its history back in 1971.

He was pre-dominantly a Test player as he represented India in 37 Test matches and went on to amass 2113 runs at an impressive average of 31.07 to go with a century and 14 half-centuries. Moreover, he played a massive 237 first-class matches and scored 15380 runs with the help of 36 tons. He hung his boots from international cricket in 1974 against England at the Oval.

Can India fight it out?

After losing the toss, the visitors have started off well with their openers looking good at the moment. They have managed to deny a wicket to the new-ball pair of Anderson and Stuart Broad. They are currently 25/0 after 8 overs and the Indian fans would be hoping that they continue playing in the same well and make the most of the time they have spent in the middle so far.

The middle-order will also feel comfortable batting if the openers live up to the expectation and blunt the new ball. The onus will also be on the skipper Virat Kohli who has got fit just in time for this game after struggling due to bad back at Lord’s.

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