India vs England: Cheteshwar Pujara leads fightback before Tourists strike three times in final session

Piling it on: Cheteshwar Pujara
REUTERS
Chris Stocks11 November 2016

This wasn’t quite the nightmare England feared before this series began. After all, scoring 537 yourself takes the edge off watching India’s batsmen pile up the runs.

However, the fact Cheteshwar Pujara was at the heart of the hosts’ fightback on the third day of this First Test was entirely predictable.

England will believe they can still win this match after the wickets of Murali Vijay and nightwatchman Amit Mishra fell in the final four balls of the day.

That it was spin that did the damage, Haseeb Hameed taking two catches at short leg, first off Adil Rashid and then Zafar Ansari, will also provide Alastair Cook’s side with hope they can carve out a significant first-innings lead.

At the close India were 319 for four, a deficit of 218. But it was a far better position than England could have hoped for after Pujara and Vijay had earlier scored centuries during a second-wicket stand of 209 for their side.

Pujara is a master of sub-continental conditions and he was in his element as he posted his ninth Test century. Eight of those have come in Asia, with seven in India, so this was the perfect stage for the Rajkot-born batsman.

Indeed, Pujara had scored a magnificent double hundred against England four years ago in another Test in the state of Gujarat, his unbeaten 206 in Ahmedabad helping India to a landslide victory. It was not all plain sailing for Pujara, who was struck on the helmet three times by Chris Woakes early in his innings before he was dismissed for 124 by Ben Stokes an hour into the evening session.

By then, India — on 277 for two — had closed to within 260 runs of England’s first-innings total. If Cook’s side are to win and take a series lead against opponents unbeaten at home in four years, then they will need this pitch to break up from tomorrow. They will also know taking their chances will be key. That is something that did not quite happen today as Vijay, who reached his seventh Test hundred shortly after Pujara early in the evening session, was dropped on 66 by Hameed in the covers off the bowling of Stuart Broad.

Vijay also had more good fortune when he was given out lbw to Moeen Ali on 86 just before tea. The call by umpire Chris Gaffaney looked a good one as the ball pitched in line and appeared to be hitting middle stump. The India opener, though, took a chance and reviewed the decision. To England’s disbelief, the ball-tracking technology showed the delivery going over the stumps.

It was a cruel blow for England, who had got off to the perfect start this morning when Broad trapped Gautam Gambhir leg-before with the seventh ball.India had started a morning that had begun with a minute’s silence for Armistice Day on 63 without loss. But Gambhir’s dismissal only brought Pujara to the crease. Watched live by his father and coach, Arvind, for the first time, perhaps there was a sense of fate about his century. He looked fluent early in his innings, scoring at almost a run a ball in reaching the twenties.

But Woakes, hitting Pujara on the helmet three times in successive overs, unsettled his rhythm before he regained his composure and, alongside Vijay, guided India into lunch on 162 for one.Stokes, who had scored a wonderful century on day two to help England into a position of strength, had a morning to forget as his four overs went for 28 runs without reward.

There was not much happening for any of England’s bowlers, however, a theme that continued into a barren afternoon session that, apart from those two let-offs for Vijay, saw the hosts score 66 unanswered runs.

Pujara was on 99 at the interval and he reached three figures early in the evening session with a scampered single off Woakes. England took the new ball at the start of the session and, after 10 overs without joy, they finally had the breakthrough they were looking for when Pujara cut Stokes to Cook at slip. He had made 124.

India were then comforted by the sight of Virat Kohli, their captain and star batsman, appearing at the crease.

England were still applying pressure through seam but they really needed their spinners to come to party. They may have left it late but the wickets from Rashid and Ansari in the final two overs gave England hope they could indeed take a significant first-innings lead.

Rashid had bowled well without much reward before he produced a googly that deceived Vijay, on 126, and saw him fend a catch to Hameed at short leg.

Ansari then struck with what proved to be the final ball of the day, Mishra surviving two balls from Surrey’s left-arm spinner before sending another chance into the grateful hands of Hameed.

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