England vs India Day 3: Cheteshwar Pujara frustrates the hosts as the visitors fight back

Day 3 of the third Test match between England and India ended with the visitors trailing by 139 runs. It was a masterful batting display by the Indian top order as they look to make amends for the horrible collapse in the first innings. Currently, the score is 215-2. Opener Rohit Sharma set a good platform with a very well-constructed half-century. Cheteshwar Pujara was a player who had a point to prove coming into this Test match and he brilliantly lived up to the challenge. He carried the team until the end of the day and played with exceptional patience and composure. He was ably supported by skipper Virat Kohli who was playing a crucial knock as well. Earlier, England were batting when the day started but India quickly bundled them out for 432.

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul came out to bat for India as they trailed by a whopping 354 runs. The duo had trouble at the beginning as the English pacers came at them hard and fast. There was a lot of swing and bounce on the day and Sharma and Rahul seemed to be struggling quite a bit. Rahul was dismissed on the last ball of the first session by Craig Overton. He had nicked the ball to slip where it was taken brilliantly by Jonny Bairstow.

Pujara came out to bat after the dismissal and the Test specialist had a point to prove. His immediate job was to support Rohit and he did that exceptionally well. Rohit himself played a fantastic knock as he managed to reach his half-century. He scored 59 runs off 156 deliveries in an innings that consisted of seven boundaries and one six. He was eventually dismissed thanks to a brilliant delivery by Ollie Robinson.

PUJARA PROVES HIS WORTH

After his dismissal, Kohli might have been next to bat but Pujara was the one who took it upon himself to score as many runs as possible and take the pressure off his skipper. Yet again, the Test specialist proved all of his doubters wrong as he remained unbeaten on a fabulous 91 off 180 deliveries at the end of the day. He dealt with the aggressive nature of the English pace attack with patience and composure and frustrated the home side as much as possible.

Kohli played the role of a supporting batter for Pujara and he has executed it perfectly so far. The Indian skipper is currently unbeaten on 45 as he looks to register his first international century since 2019. Kohli has been scoring at a faster rate than Pujara but there is no doubt that the star of the day was the Test specialist. He is the reason why India have a chance of at least drawing the game now. With eight wickets in hand, they will be looking to extend their innings as much as possible.

For the England bowlers, it was a rather frustrating day in Leeds. They could manage to pick two wickets and a lead that was once 354 runs has been cut down drastically to 139. Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton were the only two wicket-takers on the day for the three lions. There are still a couple of days of play to go and India could very well post a massive total on the board. With Pujara getting back to his best and Kohli looking set at the crease, things could get tricky for the home side if they do not pick early wickets on Day 4.