Rohit, Jadeja centuries take India to 326/5 on opening day vs England
Rajkot, Feb 15: Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja made classical Test match hundreds while debutant Sarfaraz Khan announced his arrival on the big stage with a fluent half-century as India reached 326 for five at stumps on day one of the third Test against England here on Thursday.
With India reduced to 33 for three inside the first hour of play, Rohit (131 off 196) and Jadeja (110 batting off 212) steered the ship through choppy waters with a 204-run partnership.
After the pair was separated, Sarfaraz (62 off 66) scored the joint fastest fifty by an Indian on debut to push India past the 300-run mark.
Jadeja was batting with nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav (1 batting) at close of play.
In batting friendly conditions, the home team will be looking get near the 500-run mark on day two.
For England, fast bowler Mark Wood (3/69) vindicated his selection as England's second pacer with a two-wicket burst in the morning, accounting for Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) and Shubman Gill (0), while spinner Tom Hartley (1/81) got the better of Rajat Patidar (5) to leave India tottering.
Jaiswal was caught in the slips by Joe Root while Gill looked susceptible against the moving ball. After beating Gill on the inside edge, Wood found an outside edge to send back India's No 3 for a nine-ball duck.
Patidar was outdone by a ball from Hartley that neither spun sharply nor bounced unevenly but seemed to have slowed off the surface. Patidar was unable to control his shot as the ball simply ballooned towards short cover for a regulation catch.
The pressure on the Indian camp was palpable and the team management opted for a safer route by holding Sarfaraz back and promote Jadeja at No 5 a spot where he has batted at in only five out of his 70 Tests yet.
What transpired after the first hour calmed all the nerves in the dressing room as senior pros Rohit and Jadeja recorded only the third double-century partnership for India against England in 135 Tests.
With 204 runs for the fourth wicket, Rohit and Jadeja joined the esteemed company of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (249 vs England at Leeds in August 2002) and Vijay Hazare and Vijay Manjrekar (222 vs England at Leeds in June 1952) for having put on more than 200 against the Englishmen.
It was also the highest partnership between Rohit and Jadeja in an under-transition Indian side as well as their second in triple figures, having put on 100 for the sixth wicket against New Zealand at Kanpur in September 2016.
As if he had saved his best in the series for this day, Rohit was unhurried and completely assured in the middle, producing a knock that was in complete contrast of his recent approach.
Rohit brought up his 11th Test ton shortly after play resumed in the final session and looked set for a long haul.
With Wood returning for another barrage of short balls amid a packed leg-side field, Rohit's timing went awry as he looked to work the ball.
A top edge settled into the hands of England captain Ben Stokes, who was ultimately rewarded for his out of the box field settings.
Nevertheless, the Indian captain walked off having done his job of rebuilding the innings.
The timing for his maiden Test outing was perfect for Sarfaraz, who unleashed his array of strokes powerful sweep shots and lofted drives over the in field to race to a maiden half-century, which came off just 48 balls and included seven fours and a six.
In fact, Jadeja was 15 runs short of his ton when Sarfaraz walked out to bat and when the senior batter reached his triple-figure mark, the youngster was already in his 60s.
Jadeja eventually brought up his fourth Test hundred and a second consecutive at his homeground here, but not before Sarfaraz was tragically run out following a mix-up with the southpaw.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
