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Centuries from captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja guided Team India to 326-5 on the opening day of the third Test against Ben Stokes’ England. Local hero Jadeja remained unbeaten on 110 while captain Rohit top-scored (131) for the Virat Kohli-less Indian team on Thursday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. By winning the toss and opting to bat first, Rohit confirmed that the hosts handed caps to youngsters Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in the third Test of the five-match series.
While wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel is expected to showcase his talent on Day 2, debutant Sarfaraz earned praise with his counter-attacking knock against Bazball-friendly England on the opening day of the Rajkot encounter. Sarfaraz completed his maiden half-century in just 48 balls to announce his arrival in Test cricket. Middle-order batsman Sarfaraz wrote his name in the record books on Day 1 of the third Test against England.
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Ravindra Jadeja equals Kapil Dev’s incredible feat
The Mumbai batsman smashed the second-fastest Test half-century for India on debut. Sarfaraz and Hardik Pandya scored fifties in 48 balls. After Sarfaraz’s dismissal, Jadeja scored his fourth Test century in the final session. The veteran Indian all-rounder also completed 3,000 runs in the final to join legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev on an elite list. Only Jadeja, Kapil and Ravichandran Ashwin scored 3,000 runs and took 200 wickets in the longest format of the game.
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Rohit Sharma beats Sourav Ganguly
In four Tests in Rajkot, Jadeja has averaged over 250 (254) for India. The all-terrain vehicle has two centuries of history in this place. While Jadeja joined the elite list of all-rounders, captain Rohit also wrote history on the opening day of the 3rd Test. The 36-year-old smashed 131 off 196 balls to overtake batting icon Sourav Ganguly in the list of highest run-getters in the international circuit. Former India captain Ganguly amassed 18,575 runs in 424 games. Captain Rohit has emerged as India’s fourth-best run-getter. Senior opener Rohit also broke MS Dhoni’s record during his captain’s knock. Rohit surpassed Dhoni’s tally of 78 sixes in Test cricket. The Indian captain also holds the record for hitting the most sixes in international cricket.