India vs England 3rd Test: Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma fifties lead India's resistance on Day 3

Leeds, August 27: Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara displayed great determination and superb batting skills under testing conditions on Friday (August 27) before the duo notched up sublime half-centuries to keep India alive on day three of the third Test here at Leeds.

Rohit once again proved he's an equally good red-ball opener as he produced another memorable knock before getting dismissed for 59. Before getting dismissed, the right-handed batsman from Mumbai spent vital time into the middle and blunted the English pace attack.

It was his gritty knock and 86-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara which laid the foundation for a solid response from the visitors in the second innings. India were bundled out for a dismal 78 in the first innings as all the batsmen surrendered before a quality bowling effort from the hosts.

In the second innings, however, the tourists put on a better show with the bat and put merit to their wicket and reached 215 for two in 80 overs before the umpires signalled close of play for the day due to bad light.

India thus trail by another 139 runs after England took a whopping 354-run lead in their first innings. Captain Virat Kohli (45*) and Pujara (91*) remained unbeaten at stumps with an unbeaten partnership of 99 runs between them.

The India openers showed great application as the England seamers probed with the new ball and it took a moment of brilliance from Jonny Bairstow on the stroke of lunch to end a stand of 34.

KL Rahul walked off shaking his head after he edged an excellent delivery from Overton and second-slip Bairstow dived to his left to claim a stunning one-handed catch.

Later, the duo of Rohit and Cheteshwar safely negotiated the second session and remained unbeaten at tea break. Rohit meanwhile, notched up his 14th Test fifty and looked poised for his maiden ton overseas in the longer format. But he was dismissed LBW by Ollie Robinson for 59.

After Rohit Sharma's leg before dismissal to Ollie Robinson, Pujara - who was looking in sublime touch from the start of the innings - shifted gears and scored runs at a brisk pace. He even scored at a higher strike rate than Kohli.

Pujara's 180-ball 91* was laced with 15 boundaries while Kohli in his knock of 45* off 94 deliveries hit 6 fours. The Indians dominated the second and third sessions of the day's play after the morning session was shared. Had KL Rahul not been dismissed in the final over before lunch break, the visitors would have also claimed it to their name.

For England, Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson picked up a wicket each in India's second innings while their strike pacer James Anderson remained wicketless. The pace trio of England bowled at the right areas and consistently probed the Indian batters with their line and lengths but the tourists showed great resolve all day long and finished on a high.

England added only nine runs to their overnight total after resuming on 423-8, Mohammed Shami (4-95) dismissing Craig Overton leg before wicket for 32 and Ollie Robinson cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah without scoring.

The hosts will now be looking to break the partnership between Kohli and Pujara early on day four and make a comeback in the game which they have dominated for two days. They will be eyeing the wickets of Kohli and Pujara with the second new ball in the morning session on day four.