England vs India 3rd Test Day 1: HIGHLIGHTS
ENG vs IND 3rd Test HIGHLIGHTS: Hopeful of gaining a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series, a buoyant Indian side will step onto the Headingley deck after 19 long years in the third match against hosts England. India lead the series 1-0 after two Tests. The Test series opener at Trent Bridge was drawn while Virat Kohli's men clinched the second at Lord's by 151 runs. A solid KL Rahul-Rohit Sharma opening combination and the pace quartet's performance have been the positives for India but the form of Kohli remains a cause of concern.
Though he has scored a couple of 40s in the series so far, Kohli's last international hundred came in November 2019 and the 32-year-old will look to reach his much-awaited 71st ton. Rahul and Rohit have looked firm at the top but the experienced troika of Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will aim for a big score. In the Lord's Test, Pujara and Rahane batted for almost 50 overs on day four of the Lord's Test to provide a glimpse of their batting mastery and experience.
On the bowling front, India might stick with the winning combination, making Ravichandran Ashwin wait for his first Test of the series. The senior tweaker might warm the benches again if the team management retains the four-prolonged pace attack and adds Ravindra Jadeja into the mix. For England, Dawid Malan will look to revitalize his Test career by adding a spark to England's lacklustre batting unit.
Only Joe Root from the hosts' batting camp has managed to put big scores so far in the series. England have also lost paceman Mark Wood due to a shoulder injury. They have called up Saqib Mahmood, who is likely to get a look-in for the third Test. There have been six matches between the two sides at the venue with England winning three and India two. LIVE STREAMING
ENG vs IND 3rd Test: A supremely confident India will look to tighten the noose around a struggling England and captain Virat Kohli will be expected to overcome his prolonged lean patch when the third Test of the five-match series begins here on Wednesday. The performance of openers Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul has been the biggest plus for India in the batting department. Both have shown remarkable temperament and technique in testing conditions to give the team a solid start.
Rahul, who was drafted into the team in place of injured Mayank Agarwal, has grown in confidence with each innings and seem to be sure about which balls to play and which ones to leave, which is critical for success in English conditions. Rohit too has looked in sublime touch and only needs to figure when to play his trademark pull shot, having fallen to that stroke twice in the series so far. [FULL PREVIEW]
