Rajkot: Centuries from Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, along with handy contributions from debutant duo Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel, as well as from Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah, took India to a strong 445 in their first innings of the third Test against England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Friday.
India were reduced to 33/3 in the first 45 minutes of day one, before Rohit made 131 off 196 balls, hitting 14 fours and three sixes, in his 11th Test century. He added 204 runs for the fourth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, who made 112, to get India’s innings back on track.
Coming out to bat at number six, Sarfaraz played a sparkling knock of 62 off 66 balls, laced with nine fours and a six in his first Test innings, while sharing a stand of 77 with Jadeja for the fifth wicket.
Ashwin (37) and Jurel (46) added 77 runs for the eighth-wicket stand, followed by Bumrah making 26 at the end to take India to a strong total. With turn in the pitch, India will fancy their chances with the ball, though they will be concerned over how much bowling overs they will get out of Mohammed Siraj, who injured his right knee while batting.