Image Credit- BCCI
With a sore back,
India skipper Rohit Sharma did not go on the pitch at the beginning of the
third day of the fifth Test match between India and England in Dharamsala.
Jasprit Bumrah, the appointed vice-captain, assumed leadership of the group.
With hundreds in two of the previous three Test matches, Rohit has amassed
substantial returns towards the end of the series. In Dharamsala, he
contributed significantly to India’s advantage by hitting his tenth century at
home and his twelfth Test century. As the game progressed, the hosts were able
to take a lead of 259 thanks to all five of their top-order players scoring
fifty or more.
Despite losing the
toss, Rohit’s partnerships with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 104
and 171, respectively, as India gained control of the game. With two of his
scores of 50 or more in this set, Jaiswal turned them into double-centuries,
finishing with 57. Gill continued and scored the series’ second century.
Over the course of the series, India has experienced a number of injuries.
There has been no involvement at all from Mohammed Shami (ankle injury) or
Virat Kohli (birth of his second child). KL Rahul, who is rehabilitating from a
quadricep tendon injury, has missed all bar the first Test. Due to hamstring
strains, Ravindra Jadeja was unable to participate in the second Test. R Ashwin
had to temporarily leave the Rajkot team in order to attend to a family
emergency
All of India’s
first-choice players have the IPL coming up, on March 22 through into May,
which then leads into the T20 World Cup in June.
India are leading the series 3-1, bouncing back from a defeat in Hyderabad to
win three on the trot.