Twitter Reactions: Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s fifties give India a strong lead

Continuing to bat with an overnight score of 189/8, Windies added some valuable runs to their tally at the beginning of Day 3. Jason Holder led the charge for his team along with the tail-enders to narrow down the margin between both the sides. The Windies skipper scored 39 runs before the hosts were bowled out for 222 runs. Yet, India had a 75-run first innings lead. While Ishant Sharma didn’t pick up any wickets further, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja finished with two wickets each.

At this point, India was in a commanding position. They furthered strengthened their foothold in the game with some high-quality batting in the second innings. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal started the proceedings for the side. The latter mustered 16 runs before he was trapped LBW by Roston Chase. Rahul was the next to fall and it was the same bowler who struck. After scoring 38 runs, the opener threw away a potential big score after misjudging a relatively flatter and faster delivery.

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane going strong with an unbeaten 104-run partnership

Later, Cheteshwar Pujara was also deceived by Kemar Roach with a brilliant inswinger. The ball nipped back just enough to beat the batsman on the inside edge. There was a daylight gap between the pads and the bat. That was enough for Roach and he disturbed the woodwork. Pujara was dismissed for 25 runs and it was the same bowler who got the better of him in the first innings as well.

However, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane then tightened the screws with some disciplined batting. At the close of play on Day 3, they added an unbeaten 104 runs together. While the skipper was on 51, his deputy was going strong on 53. This is also Rahane’s second half-century in this game. India finished the day with a score of 185/3 and has got a lead of 260 runs.

The game seems quite out of the reach of Windies already. India might extend it to around 350 runs on Day-4 before they declare. Twitterati was relieved to see Ajinkya Rahane find his form back. They praised Virat for his consistent run across all the formats.

Here is how Twitterati reacted:

Really wish to see two hundreds today. make it happen my boys. #Ashes #WIvIND

— Aakriti Joshi ???????????????????????????????????? (@aakritijoshi5) August 25, 2019

India are well ahead and from that situation I think they may easily cross the line and strat the WCC campaign with a win.
Kudos to Rahane and ishant to make it easier.#WIvIND#wcc19 #sonyliv #Kohli #Day3

— Govind k. Singh (@singh_govind27) August 25, 2019

“I did not have any pressure to perform. Obviously you feel good when the skipper believes in you, considers you as main player. It boosts your confidence because your captain is showing confidence on you.” – Ravindra Jadeja#WIvIND #WTC21

— Monika???? (@thedigitalsavvy) August 25, 2019

Old school Test batting across 3 matches yesterday.

New Zealand, England and India all digging in.

Great for the traditionalists!#Ashes #WIvIND #SLvNZ

— CricBlog (@cric_blog) August 25, 2019

KL Rahul from Dec 2016 – Aug 2018:-
He crossed 16 runs in 11 innings. And reached fifty all the time.
(54, 79, 85, 57, 51*, 60, 67, 51, 90, 64, 199)

KL Rahul since Aug 2018:-
He crossed 30 runs in 7 innings. But reached fifty once.
(38, 44, 44, 33*, 149, 37, 36)#WIvIND #Stats

— Kausthub241 (@kaustats) August 24, 2019

Still miffed with Jason Holder for holding back Roach countless times yesterday. He was in red hot form and would definitely have made life difficult for the Indian batsmen. Bizarre tactics even when he was repeatedly showcasing his ability to test Kohli and Rahane. #WIvsIND

— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) August 25, 2019

Good comeback from #TeamIndia with Rahane & Virat scoring 50s each. 185/3 at Stumps on Day 3 – Lead by 260 runs #WIvIND ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/VguhBB1XEj

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 24, 2019