England suffered one of their worst defeats in the recent past when they were defeated by India in the third Test of the five-match series by 434 runs. The match was played at the Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium in Rajkot and India dominated the match with both the bat and the ball as they registered their biggest win in terms of runs. Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott lashed out at the Ben Stokes-led England team as they lost the third Test of the series and gave a lead to the hosts.
India won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision which was not very pleasing for the first hour as India lost three wickets under an hour of the first session.
Skipper Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja joined hands and added 204 runs for the fourth wicket as Rohit Sharma smashed his 11th Test century scoring 131.
Ravindra Jadeja also slammed a ton scoring 112 in the first innings. Jadeja also won the Player of the Match for scoring a ton and taking a fifer in the innings.
England was shattered in the second innings as they conceded 430 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal thrashing them everywhere to get his second double-century of the series and his Test career.
The 22-year-old youngster smashed 214 off 236 deliveries in the second innings which included 14 fours and 12 sixes. England were bundled for 122 in the second innings as Ravindra Jadeja took a fifer and got the man of the match.
Sir Geoffrey Boycott was not happy with England’s performance in the third Test in Rajkot. In his column for The Telegraph, he wrote, “England’s players can talk all they want about being entertainers, but winning is better. So much guff comes out of their dressing room about attacking bowlers, imposing themselves on whatever the situation is and that they will chase any target.”
England opener Ben Duckett faces criticism from Geoffrey Boycott
“Ben Duckett was full of himself after his wonderful innings of 153 saying ‘The more runs we have to chase the better’. After their second innings collapse and massive defeat, his comments should embarrass him. If you are going to boast, be outrageously cocky, even arrogant, then you have to back it up with deeds, not words,” Boycott added.
Ben Duckett was the only good performer for England as he smashed 153 in the first innings but in the second innings, England collapsed massively leading to a 434-run defeat.
India is now leading the five-match series by 2-1 and they will be hoping to win the fourth Test to seal the series and win their 17th consecutive Test series at home. The fourth Test will be played at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi.
For Team India it was a memorable Test match in Rajkot as the youngsters and debutants stepped up and delivered when needed.
Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel made their Test debut and immediately made an impact in their first Test match. Sarfaraz Khan smashed half-centuries in both innings and Dhruv Jurel missed his half-century by just four runs in the first innings.
