Rohit Sharma, who retired from Tests before the England tour, made a surprise Day 3 appearance at the Oval to cheer for India. Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed a century, tightening India’s grip on the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Team India ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, was in attendance for Day 3 of the fifth and final Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against England at the Oval in London on Saturday, August 2.
India resumed their second innings at 75/2, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Akash Deep batting on 52 and 4, respectively, and a 52-run lead. The pair carried on the visitors’ innings and stitched a crucial 107-run partnership before Akash Deep, who played a resilient innings of 66 off 94, was dismissed by Jamie Overton at 177/4.
At the end of the first session, Team India posted a total of 189/3 in 44 overs, with Jaiswal and Gill batting on 85 and 11, respectively, and took a 166-run lead. As the visitors resumed their batting after Lunch Break, Gill was quick to be dismissed for 11 at 189/4, and Jaiswal was joined by Karun Nair at the crease.
Rohit Sharma makes a surprise visit to the Oval
Amid the ongoing Day 3 of the final Test, Rohit Sharma has marked his attendance at the Oval to cheer for Team India. Rohit retired from his Test career before the England tour, pulling the curtains down after 12 years and 67 matches in red-ball cricket at the international level.
Though the veteran Indian batter is not part of the India squad for the ongoing Test series, he made sure to show up and support the team from the stands. In a video posted by ANI on its X handle (formerly Twitter), Rohit Sharma was seen entering the stadium by showing the ticket to security before making his way to the stands.
The fans spotted the ‘Hitman’, who wore a casual black jacket and a white cap, trying to take a selfie, but the veteran Indian batter was uninterested and politely declined.
Scroll to load tweet…
Scroll to load tweet…
Rohit Sharma’s last appearance in Test Cricket was in the Boxing Day match against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground in December last year. In the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit had an unforgettable outing as he scored just 31 runs at an average of 6.2 in six innings. The right-handed batter himself dropped from the Sydney Test due to his poor form and handed over captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah.
Rohit finishes his Test career with 4301 runs, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties, at an average of 40.57 in 67 matches. The right-handed batter’s only double century came against South Africa in 2019, scoring 212 off 255 balls.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s century further steadied India’s innings
Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to his form as he registered his sixth Test century of his career after Lunch break. Jaiswal and Karun carried on India’s innings and forged a 40-run stand for the fifth wicket before the latter was dismissed for 17 at 229/5.
Thereafter, Yashasvi Jaiswal anchored India’s innings and played a brilliant knock of 118 off 164 balls, taking the visitors past 250 runs before his stay at the crease ended by Josh Tongue at 273/6, ending his 44-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja. Thereafter, Jadeja was joined by Dhruv Jurel at the crease to carry on India’s innings.
At the end of Tea Break, Team India posted a total of 304/6 in 71 overs, with Jadeja and Jurel 26 and 25, respectively, and took a 281-run lead.