It was expected that the Indian team would feel the pressure of being kept on the field for five sessions after England had posted 537 runs batting first in the opening Test match of the series in Rajkot. However, the team displayed its fighting character after they put up a brilliant reply, getting to 319 for 4, losing two wickets in the dying moments of the third day’s play.
The Indian team’s reply began on a solid note with the opening pair of Murali Vijay and Gautam Gambhir adding 63 runs in the final session of day two. However, it wasn’t the best of starts for the home team after they lost opener Gambhir early on the third day.
But it wasn’t too long before India took control of proceedings again. The second-wicket pair of Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara mixed caution and aggression and milked the English bowlers for a period of 67 overs.
The pair, who got together in the second over of the day, added 209 runs and left the English bowlers searching for means to separate them. Their association grew to become India’s second-best second-wicket partnership in Test matches against England.
Especially early on in their partnership, both batsmen were absolutely sure of what they were doing; they only edged the ball or were beaten on six occasions in the first ten overs of their association.
Later on in the innings, both batsmen encountered few moments where they were tested by the England bowlers; Pujara was struck on the helmet thrice in quick succession, Vijay was put down by Hameed, while Pujara survived an LBW appeal thanks to DRS.
But on the whole, the pair had the upper hand over the visitors. They drove fluently, cut away anything that was pitched a tad short and effortlessly put away deliveries bowled on their pads. It was interesting to note that Pujara, whose low scoring rate has come for criticism in the recent past, was the aggressor in the partnership, though Vijay was the senior batsman having been there from the start of the innings.
Pujara got to his half-century off 74 balls, striking 10 boundaries in this period. In the 209-run partnership with Vijay, Pujara’s contribution was 124 – and the runs came at a strike-rate of 60.48. In contrast, Vijay scored his 85 runs at a strike-rate of 43.15.