IND vs ENG: What is India’s Test record at SCA Stadium in Rajkot ahead of third Test against England? | Cricket News

With a win apiece under their belts, India and England will lock horns in the third Test of the five-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot from Thursday.While England orchestrated a surprising 28-run win over the dominant hosts in the first Test in Hyderabad, Rohit Sharma’s side bounced back in Visakhapatnam. India defeated England within four days as standout performances from Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill helped the side to level the series.
The spotlight will now be on Rajkot, where India has a chance to move up front and strengthen their position on the World Test Championship standings. Here is a look at India’s Test record at the venue.
India has featured in two Tests at the Rajkot stadium. While they earned a draw against England in 2016, India annihilated West Indies with a big win in 2018.
Summary of India vs England in Rajkot, 2016
The inaugural Test at the SCA Stadium was the series opener of the 2016-17 India-England series. Regarded as one of the finest batting venues in the country, England won the toss and elected to bat before putting on a hefty 537 on the board. Joe Root, the leading run-scorer in all India-England Tests, notched up a hundred (124) then, with Moeen Ali (117) and Ben Stokes (128) further punishing the Indian bowlers. In reply, centuries from local lad Cheteshwar Pujara (124) and opener Murali Vijay (126) shone bright, but India were bundled out for 488.
A second-innings hundred from skipper Alastair Cook (130) and debutant Haseeb Hameed’s 82 helped England set a 310-run target for India a little after Lunch on Day 5. Playing against the dying minutes, India suffered a brief top-order wobble before the then-captain Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja guided their team to a draw.
Summary of India vs West Indies in Rajkot, 2018
In a memorable Test debut, Prithvi Shaw rewrote the record books with a blazing first-innings hundred against West Indies in Rajkot. Shaw blazed a 99-ball hundred – the third-quickest ton on Test debut and the second youngest Indian to the mark after Sachin Tendulkar. A hapless West Indies attack was ripped apart as captain Virat Kohli cracked 134 and Ravindra Jadeja (100*) struck his maiden Test hundred on his home ground. Rishabh Pant (92) and Cheteshwar Pujara (86) also chipped in as India eventually declared on 649 for nine.
India’s bowlers took on the mantle and folded West Indies twice (181 and 196) between days two and three to rack up an innings and 272-run win. India proceeded to clinch the series 2-0 and also dominate the white-ball leg of the series.
India squad for third Test: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal.
England squad for third Test: Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope (vc), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.