India's hopes of victory in the first Test against England once again rest with captain Virat Kohli.
Kohli, a brilliant century-maker in the first innings, is underpinning the tourists' quest to chase down a target of 194 in what could be a tight finish to a riveting match at Edgbaston.
India ended day three on 110-5, still needing another 84 runs to win, with Kohli unbeaten on 43. Dinesh Karthik was with his captain on 18 at the crease.
Earlier in the day, Ishant Sharma (5/51) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/59) ran through the English batting order to help India restrict England’s lead to 193 runs.
Here’s a look at Day 3 of the first Test against England through numbers.
Ashwin’s Excellent Figures
In a surprising turn of events, Ravichandran Ashwin was India’s best bowler in the first Test. Usually on overseas tours, the Indian pacers are at the forefront, but this time, Ashwin has returned with figures of 7/121 in the match.
The off-spinner’s figures ranks second to Erapalli Prasanna in the best match returns by Indian spinners at Edgbaston.
Kohli-Ashwin Combination
Ravichandran Ashwin has picked up the most number of wickets under a single Indian captain. Virat Kohli certainly banks on Ashwin in all home Tests, but the Chennai bowler is proving to be a big asset in overseas Tests as well.
Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly formed excellent partnerships with one of India’s greatest bowlers – Anil Kumble.
Ishant’s Top Performances
Ishant Sharma recorded his fifth best performance during England’s second innings in the first Test. The 29-year-old fast bowler turned the match in India’s favour when he dismissed Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in the same over. He eventually retuned with figures of 5/51.
The Delhi bowler registered his career best figures of 7/74, when India won their first Test at Lord’s after 28 years.
Virat Kohli will need good support from the other end for India to clinch a victory in the first Test. The Indian captain can take confidence from the fact that Dinesh Karthik was India’s highest scorer when the team won their last Test series in England. Karthik scored 263 runs in six innings in India’s tour of England in 2007.
If Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik can play out the first hour of Day 4, the visiting side have a great side to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.
(With inputs from AP)
(Statistics by Arun Gopalakrishnan)
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