IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Rohit's captain's knock helps IND overcome early setbacks

A day after being confirmed as India skipper for the forthcoming T20 World Cup by BCCI president Jay Shah Rohit Sharma came up with a captainrsquos knock on the opening day of the third Test against England here on ThursdayIt was his responsible and watchful century that helped the home team overcome early setbacks to end the day at a commanding 3265Besides Rohit the day also belonged to local boy Ravindra Jadeja who got to his fourth Test century and debutant Sarfaraz Khan who played a gem of an innings before being unluckily run out at the fag end of the day in a bid to help Jadeja complete his century As Jadeja sent Sarfaraz back Mark Woodrsquos direct throw sent the youngster into the pavilionmdashrun out for 62 from just 66 balls At the close Jadeja was at the crease on 110 and giving him company was nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav on oneAlso Read All I wanted was to play international cricket in front of my father SarfarazDeep trouble After India opted to bat the day did not begin well as they lost three early wickets and were in deep trouble at 333 in a mere nine overs And with two debutants Sarfaraz and Dhruv Jurel scheduled to follow things did not look rosy Luckily the team management decided to send experienced allrounder Jadeja who knows the local conditions well ahead of the two greenhorns and that proved crucialAfter the early setbacks Jadeja and Rohit produced a brilliant doublecentury partnership for the fourth wicket to not only steady the rocking boat but also sailed ahead of the toiling Englishmen to snatch back the initiative Of course luck was with India as Rohit was dropped by Joe Root in the slips very early in the innings off leftarm spinner Tom Hartley Had the Indian captain departed at that juncture the story of the day could have been differentRohit and Jadeja deserve a lot of kudos for playing the way they did when the English bowlers were on the top They first absorbed the pressure and gradually dominated the bowling Rohit went on to complete his 11th Test century the third against England It was not his most fluent but surely was a responsible one as well as timely Just when he had the measure of the bowling he attempted an extravagant pull off Wood and the ball landed in rival captain Ben Stokesrsquos hands at midwicket His innings of 131 off 196 balls with 14 boundaries and three sixes turned things around for IndiaPatient Jadeja After Rohitrsquos departure Jadeja batted patiently for his century but Sarfaraz tore into the tiring England bowling and collected runs at a fast clip hitting nine fours and a six being particularly severe on the spinners And just when it seemed he would see the day off he was run out tragically to give the hapless English team something to cheer about With the second new ball taken at the fag end the visitors would be hoping to get the remaining Indian wickets in the morning and not allow them to attain a formidable totalAs for the England bowling Wood toiled for his three wickets and also effected the run out of Sarfaraz But veteran Jimmy Anderson and the two spinners Hartley and Rehan Ahmed were not as effective on the firstday pitchBrief scoresIndia 3265 R Sharma 131 R Jadeja 110 not out S Khan 62 M Wood 369 v England