Third Test: Cook unbeaten on 82, leads England to 186—1 at tea

England captain Alastair Cook was dropped on 15 by Ravindra Jadeja at slip, though Jadeja made partial amends later catching out Sam Robson off Mohammed Shami.

July 27, 2014 03:27 pm | Updated April 22, 2016 02:56 am IST - SOUTHAMPTON:

England captain Alastair Cook made his 36th half-century to lead his side to 186—1 at tea on day one of the third test against India at the Rose Bowl on Sunday.

Cook brought up his 50 by pulling a short delivery from Mohammed Shami for two and was cheered by the home crowd as if he had made a century. It was Cook’s first half-century in 10 innings.

Gary Ballance then made his third test 50 from his 107th delivery, hitting a quick single off Ravindra Jadeja. He was unbeaten on 72.

Sam Robson (26) remains the only England wicket to fall, edging Shami to Jadeja at second slip in the opening session.

Earlier, Jadeja dropped Cook on 15, off debutant Pankaj Singh.

Ishant injury blow:

Man of the Match in the historic Lord’s Test win, India’s pace spearhead Ishant Sharma was ruled out of the third Test against England, due to an ankle injury.

The news about Ishant’s omission from the playing XI broke just ahead of the toss, when Pankaj Singh was handed his Test cap by former skipper Sourav Ganguly.

After the second Test in Lord’s, where Ishant took career best figures of 7—74 to help India to a 95—run victory, skipper M S Dhoni had raised some concerns about his fitness after the medium pacer had bowled a long match winning spell.

But in the first two days of practice leading up to the match here, there were no hints that Ishant was nursing an injury. He didn’t bowl on Friday and it was hinted that he was just recovering from the physical exertions of the second Test.

Ishant did bowl on Saturday, a day ahead of the Test, and was reportedly seen walking off midway through the practice session with an ice pack on his left ankle. The team management denied that this was a fitness issue.

Even during the press conference, when asked about his bowling attack composition, Dhoni did not mention that there were any concerns regarding Ishant’s availability for this match. Then, on the morning of the Test, he was ruled out of the game.

Toss:

Earlier, England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to bat first in the third Test against India at the Rose Bowl.

England made three changes to the side that lost the second test at Lord’s by 95 runs. Jos Buttler replaced Matt Prior as wicketkeeper, while Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan replaced Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes in England’s attack.

India, which leads the series 1—0, made two changes. Rohit Sharma and Pankaj Singh replaced Stuart Binny and the injured Ishant Sharma.

Scoreboard at tea on day one:

England 1st innings:

Alastair Cook not out 82

Sam Robson c Jadeja b Shami 26

Gary Ballance not out 72

Extras: (1 b, 5 lb) 6

Total (for 1 wicket): 186

Overs: 63

Fall of wicket: 1—55.

Still to bat: Ian Bell, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 18—5—50—0, Mohammed Shami 12—2—41—1, Pankaj Singh 13—2—41—0, Rohit Sharma 6—0—21—0, Ravindra Jadeja 13—2—24—0, Shikhar Dhawan 1—0—3—0.

Toss: England

Teams:

England: Alastair Cook, Sam Robson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Joss Buttler, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

India: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Pankaj Singh.

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