Ind vs Eng: Clinical India fight back with 203-run win in third Test

Indias cornered cricketers produced a fantastic collective performance to outclass England by 203 runs in the third Test to keep the fivematch series alive here todayNeeding only a wicket on the final morning India completed the formalities in only 25 overs as England were all out for 317 well short of the mammoth victory target of 521 runsIndia now trail England 12 but more importantly got some breathing space after a heartbreaking defeat in Edgbaston followed by the debacle at the LordsThe final wicket was taken by Ravichandran Ashwin who dismissed James Amderson 11 caught by Ajinkya Rahane The heartening aspect was the kind of domination shown by the Indian team in what can easily be termed as a complete performance under Virat Kohlis captaincy outside the subcontinentWhile openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were solid if not spectacular the new ball bowlers Ishant Sharma 232 and 270 and Mohammed Shami 156 and 178 were relentless in their attackVicecaptain Ajinkya Rahane 81 in first innings and Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara 72 in second innings also put their hands up when it mattered the most Hardik Pandya fivefor and halfcentury produced an allround performance with wickets and runs to justify his place and make a statement to the scepticsThe slip catching improved by leaps and bounds with Rahul taking seven catchesRishabh Pant showed why he is considered a minefield of talent during his eventful stay at the creasePant might still be a work in progress as far as glovework is concerned but five catches in the first innings showed that it wont be easy for the first choice Test keeper Wriddhiman Saha to just walk back into the team once he gets fitLast but not the least was skipper himself Easily the best batsmen across both sides Kohli has now taken his tally of runs to 440 after knocks of 97 and 103 in the third TestCall it a coincidence Kohli has accumulated exactly 200 runs in the first and third Test matches With two hundreds and two halfcenturies Kohli has made sure that there are no debates on who is the best batsmen in world cricket currently He has now scored hundreds in Australia South Africa New Zealand and EnglandThe Indian captains ability to cut down on his scoring shots showing patience when Jimmy Anderson was on fire was hallmark of his greatnessSuch has been his domination that the secondhighest scorer across both the teams is Jonny Bairstow 206 runs while Jos Buttler after his maiden Test hundred is placed third with 170 runsFrom India Pandya with 160 runs is the second best but it has a lot do with the batting debacles in the first two Test matchesCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever