Ind vs Eng 3rd Test highlights: Kohli, Rahane put India ahead on Day 1

A brilliant 159-run fourth wicket stand between Virat Kohli (97) and Ajinkya Rahane (81) pulled India out of trouble as the visitors made 307/6 at Stumps

India were 189 for three at tea on Day 1 of the third Test against England at Trent Bridge. Both Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane notched up half centuries rebuilding the Indian innings. Earlier, Indian openers showed signs of improvement before Chris Woakes' triple strike left the visitors struggling at 82 for three against England at lunch on the opening day of the third Test. Put into bat, comeback man Shikhar Dhawan punched his way to 35 adding 60 for the opening stand before Woakes coming in as second change bowler blew away the top three to put the pressure right back on India. England skipper Joe Root won the toss and elected to field against India in the third cricket Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. India made three changes to the playing 11, handing young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant his maiden Test cap, while fit-again Jasprit Bumrah was back in the fold replacing Kuldeep Yadav and Shikhar Dhawan came in for Murali Vijay. England made just one change, bringing in all-rounder Ben Stokes in place of Sam Curran.

India vs England 3rd Test Day 1 Scorecard: India first innings

In pics: India vs England 3rd Test Day 1 highlights

Day 1: Second Session report

• Skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane struck fluent fifties to help India recover from the early jolts in the morning session, as the visitors reached 189/3 at tea on Day 1 of the third Test at Trent Bridge here on Saturday.
• At the break, Kohli (51) and Rahane (53) went back undivided after forging a 107-run fourth wicket stand as the visitors ended their first wicketless session in the series so far.
• Resuming the second session at 82/3 on a surface, which started to settle down under the sun, Kohli and Rahane played out the initial few overs from the pacers with utmost caution before cutting loose as soon as leg-spinner Adil Rashid was brought into the attack.
• Kohli was his usual confident self, mostly chanceless and enjoyed the company of the Mumbaikar, who showed enough signs of being at his best.
• Rashid's introduction into the attack lit up the Indian pair's eyes, striking frequent boundaries, that saw the leggie's figures swell up to 29 runs from his five overs.
• The Indian duo did well to take the attack back to the opposition, prompting Kohli to get to his 18th Test fifty of 74 balls before Rahane struck Chris Woakes for a boundary to bring up his 13th fifty.

Day 1: First Session report

• From 60 for no loss, India lost three wickets for 22 runs to end the session at 82 for 3.
• Dhawan was once again gone trying to poke at an away going delivery while KL Rahul (23) was trapped leg before by an in cutter.
• The most disappointing was Cheteshwar Pujara (14, 31 balls), who again did the hardwork before Woakes successfully led the short ball trap enticing him for a hook shot. Pujara went for it and was holed out at the long leg boundary at the stroke of lunch as the irritation on coach Ravi Shastri's face was clearly visible.
• Dhawan, dropped after the Birmingham Test, opened the innings, initially showed more patience as he played 65 balls hitting seven boundaries in the process.
• James Anderson and Stuart Broad bowled a tad short and the ball didn't swing much in the first hour of play as India were well placed at 43-0.
• But it didn't take anything away from the solid job done by the opening pair. In fact, this was India's highest opening partnership outside Asia and West Indies since December 2013.
• India's 50 came in the 17th over. After drinks break though, things changed as Woakes bowled a fuller length and started troubling the batsmen immediately.
• Dhawan was caught at second slip by Buttler as he edged one off Woakes in the 19th over.
• Two overs later, Rahul was trapped leg before as Woakes set him up beautifully. He bowled successive outswingers before bringing one back in. Rahul opted for DRS, but that didn't work in his favour either.
• Things looked to be going smoothly despite these twin blows before Pujara's indiscretion cost India dearly.

In pics: India vs England 3rd Test Day1: Session 1 highlights

What happened so far in India vs England Test series 2018
 
For Team India, the Trent Bridge Test will be their last chance to save the series after being outplayed in the first two Test matches — by 31 runs Edgbaston and innings and 159 runs at the Lord's. Down 0-2 with only five and half days of competitive cricket in all, skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri will be aiming to get the team combination right having bungled at the Lord's.
 

Why should Rishabh pant replace Dinesh Karthik in playing 11 of 3rd Test?

The most awaited change will be 20-year-old Rishabh Pant's imminent Test debut replacing a horribly out-of-form Dinesh Karthik, who might well have played his last international game in the longest format. With scores of 0, 20, 1 & 0 in four innings coupled with shoddy glovework meant that Karthik was seen giving catching practice to Pant, who also spend considerable time batting at the nets. Being hailed as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's successor, Pant's entry into the squad happened after three half-centuries in the two first-class matches against England Lions. Despite a triple hundred and a healthy first-class average of 54 plus, it will still be baptism by fire for the Roorkee-born youngster. He will be facing Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes, ready to make life miserable for him just like they have done with his illustrious seniors.

 

Here is the playing 11 of both the teams:

India playing 11: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
 

England playing 11: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (w), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.


Indian Team combination

Especially with Kohli regaining fitness, Karun Nair still isn't seen to be active during practice sessions. It was the case in Birmingham and London, as well as in Nottingham, and playing an extra specialist batsman is not in the management's immediate plans as yet. If it so transpires, Umesh Yadav will once again be unlucky to miss out, for the team management will be eager to get their best possible combination out on the field.

England Team news

Ben Stokes has been brought back into the England side for the third Test at the expense of Sam Curran. Stokes missed the second Test at Lord's on account of his trial for involvement in a brawl at a nightclub last September. He was initially not included in the squad for the third Test but was called up after a jury found him not guilty.
 
Curran might feel hard-done by the decision especially after churning out a superlative all-round performance in the opening Test at Birmingham where he claimed five wickets and scored 87 runs for which he was awarded Player of the Match. England captain Joe Root while confirming Stokes' inclusion in the playing 11 insisted the decision to drop Curran was one of the "most difficult" of his career. "What Sam has done so far has been nothing short of high class," said Root on the eve of the third Test. "It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make as captain. It’s about us as a squad delivering over five games and on this occasion Sam is unfortunate to miss out. Ben is desperate to get back playing cricket. He’s desperate to get out there, put in performances and concentrate on his cricket now. He feels ready to play."
 
India vs England head-to-head comparison in Test matches
 
Total
 
Matches played: 119
 
India won: 25
 
England won: 45
 
Drawn: 49
 
In England
 
Matches played: 59
 
India won: 6
 
England won: 32
 
Drawn: 21

In Nottingham

Matches played: 6
 
India won: 1
 
England won: 2
 
Drawn: 3
 
Here is a look at the latest cricket news ahead of India vs England 3rd Test at Trent Bridge:

Kohli hits out at critics of chop-and change policy, calls it 'bizarre': India skipper Virat Kohli today said his players don't feel threatened because of his chop-and-change policy and called it "quite a bizarre thought to have", taking a dig at those questioning the trend. Kohli has made 37 changes in 37 Tests as captain and that trend looks set to continue when India meet England in a must-win third Test. "I don't think anyone is thinking like that. These are just things that are created on the outside and people like to make a lot of nothing. For us the priority is to win games of cricket. We are not thinking whether someone's career is on the line or what's going to happen to their future," Kohli said. World number one India trail the five-match series 0-2. "We need to focus on this Test and not think about whether someone's career is on the line. It's quite bizarre thought to have," Kohli told reporters at the pre-match press conference.

India likely to play with six batsmen in 3rd Test: With Indian batsmen struggling against the England bowlers in the first two Tests of the five-match series, skipper Virat Kohli hinted that the visitors may employ an extra batsman in the crucial third Test. "Depends on what the surface is like. If there is going to be enough assistance for the bowlers then the extra batter might come into play, but if not, if the pitch is going to be quite even for batting and bowling then picking 20 wickets is going to be the priority," Kohli told reporters on the eve of the Third Test. ()
 
India must come out of confusion and poor form: Even after two straight defeats in the five-match series in England, India are still the worlds best Test side, ranked at the top while England are fifth behind South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Suddenly the International Cricket Council rankings look skewed if you are seeing through an English eye. But the fact remains that India have worked hard to get to the top with their remarkable record at home and in the subcontinent, just as England are now showing that they are not easily beaten in their backyard. India looked as bad in the first two Tests in South Africa, despite their bowlers dismissing the home team twice in each of the three Tests. But they came back to win the third Test with a strong performance. Four years ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team began well, drawing the first Test and winning the second when their batsmen looked so good. Their batting came apart in the second innings of the third Test and after that they could not cross the 200-run mark in the any of the following five innings. The sudden reversal of form appeared inexplicable howsoever the England bowling might have been. Read full article here 
 
Believe in yourself: Shastri's mantra to struggling team : Facing criticism from various quarters after India's consecutive defeats in the first two Tests of the five-match rubber, head coach Ravi Shastri on Thursday urged his wards to believe in themselves when they take on England in the third cricket Test starting at Trent Bridge on Saturday. Apart from skipper Virat Kohli, the other Indian batsmen have failed to rise to the occasion as the visitors went down at Edgbaston and Lord's. However, Shastri felt batsmen from both the teams have struggled so far as conditions have been tough in England. Addressing media persons, the Indian coach said: "It's not fair to single out any one player. Batsmen from both teams have struggled, you know, when the occasion demands..." "It's a case of mental resolve -- how you put mind over matter and mental discipline will be the key as far as batsmen are concerned going forward even in this Test match," Shastri said his boys will need to show some mental discipline if they want to make a comeback at Trent Bridge as conditions have been tough for the visitors.
 
Injury-hit Kohli could be more dangerous in third Test, says Bayliss: He might be recovering from a back injury, but Virat Kohli could become more dangerous as a player when the India skipper turns up for his team in the third cricket Test starting in Nottingham on Saturday, feels England coach Trevor Bayliss. Kohli did not take the field on the fourth day of the second Test because of a back injury. However, he batted in the second innings even though he looked in discomfort. Bayliss said he isn't worried about Kohli's fitness issues. "It could mean he's more of a dangerous player. Through history there are a lot of players who have played with an injury and scored runs and taken wickets," Bayliss said. "I don't know if that focuses the mind more but I have just seen him take some slip catches without any problems, so I'm sure he'll be playing. That won't change our approach to the way we play him."  Bayliss hoped the conditions at Trent Bridge would be similar to Lord's. "I haven't been out there but normally there is a bit of swing around. We're looking forward to it being the same as Lord's. That would be nice," he added.
 
 
Squad:
 
India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
 
England: Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Oliver Pope, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jamie Porter, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes.

Video: What Virat Kohli said on the eve of India vs England 3rd Test