4 key takeaways from the third Test match between England and India
Match: 3rd Test match, England vs India
Where: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
A superb comeback by India after losing by an innings and 159 runs at Lord's.
After miserable batting collapses in the first two Test matches, this Indian batting unit produced one of their best batting displays in England. They scored 300 runs in both the innings; a feat rarely achieved by the team these days in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia.
England, on the other hand, had a horrible batting collapse when they lost all their ten wickets in a single session; their third instance since 2016. Their bowling too lacked the spark in both the innings.
So, let us find out the 4 key takeaways from the third Test match between England and India.
#4- Indian openers' effectiveness
When Virat Kohli announced the squad for the third Test match, Shikhar Dhawan's inclusion came as a surprise. The southpaw was dropped in the second Test match even though he had scored more runs than Vijay and Rahul in the first Test match. It was a bold move to drop Vijay, and play Dhawan instead.
Nevertheless, the Indian openers began with a positive mindset, and that showed after a solid opening partnership of 60 runs.
Together in the first innings, they scored a total of 58 runs in 118 deliveries. The dot ball percentage being at 79.7%, which showed that they were punishing the bad balls, and respecting the good ones.
England openers, on the other hand, made a quick fire 49 runs in just 74 deliveries at a strike rate of 66.2.
In the second innings, the Indian openers scored a total of 80 runs in comparison to 30 from the England openers. For India, KL Rahul made a quickfire 36 of just 33 balls with 7 fours. That innings gave the impetus that was needed for India to command its position.
Chasing a mammoth 521, England openers began steadily, but they soon fell prey to Ishant Sharma's brilliance. Overall, they could manage a total of only 30 runs, which was extremely poor.
Overall in both the innings, the Indian openers looked better than England openers.