Virat Kohli scored his 15th Test century to hand India the advantage vs England in the Mumbai Test.© BCCI
Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli led India's reply against England on Day 3 of the Mumbai Test on Saturday. The duo put together a century partnership after the hosts lost Cheteshwar Pujara on the second ball of the day. Despite being under pressure, Vijay and Kohli continued to play positive cricket to dominate the England bowlers. Vijay departed after scoring his 8th ton, while Kohli remained unbeaten on 147 at stumps.
10:59 IST: Another single, another milestone. That's 4000 Test runs for Virat. What a player!
10:55 IST: HUNDRED! Vijay takes a single and brings up his 8th Test ton. This has been a superb knock from the right-hander.
10:44 IST: Vijay picks up two runs off Anderson, moves to 99.
10:42 IST: How good is Virat Kohli?
10:40 IST: Agree?
10:36 IST: FOUR! Short from Stokes and Kohli pulls the ball through midwicket for a boundary.
10:21 IST: Kohli picks up a single to bring up India's 200.
10:20 IST: That's the fifty-run partnership between Kohli and Vijay.
10:12 IST: Vijay and Kohli have not allowed Moeen Ali to dominate. Super batting by the duo. Vijay is nearing his 8th Test ton.
10:02 IST: It is wonderful to see fans turning up for the Mumbai Test. It's the weekend and Kohli is at the crease. What else can a cricket fan wish for?
9:56 IST: This is classic Test match cricket. The Indian batsmen need to dig deep here.
9:50 IST: SIX! Vijay steps out and goes straight over the bowler's head. Moeen will be happy though. England have runs in the bank and are looking to attack early.
9:48 IST: FOUR! Another one for Kohli. Exactly similar to the previous one.
9:46 IST: FOUR! Kohli opens the face of the bat and steers the ball through the gully region. Good, positive start by the Indian captain.
9:43 IST: FOUR! Virat Kohli scores the first boundary of the morning. He guides the ball past backward point.
Live cricket score: India vs England - Jake Ball Dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara early
Photo Credit: BCCI There is still a long way to go and the hosts will look to Vijay and Pujara to further extend their 107-run partnership. As the match progresses, batsmen will find it hard to score runs on this track. Hence the first session of play on Day 3 will be extremely crucial.
With the injury to Ajinkya Rahane, India's middle-order lacks the experience to bat on such a testing track. Karun Nair is playing only his second Test and Parthiv Patel has returned to the Test arena after a long gap. Hence, Pujara, Vijay and skipper Virat Kohli will have to do bulk of the scoring for the home side.
England's spinners failed to make good use of the turning Wankhede track on Friday. Alastair Cook will hope for this to change on Day 3. Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will have to deliver the goods for England, as pacers have found no assistance from the wicket so far. Though Ali dismissed Rahul with an absolute beauty, England would have been a lot happier with at least another Indian wicket.
Vijay will look to use his feet against the spinners and play with a positive intent, as he did on Day 2. If he succeeds in putting pressure on Ali and Rashid, India will have an edge in this Test.
However, if England are able to make early inroads into the Indian batting line-up, skipper Virat Kohli will be under immense pressure, especially with no in the middle order.