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Team India truly dominated Day 3 as they extended their second innings lead to 171 runs before bad light stopped play at the Oval on Saturday.
Starting at 43/0, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul added another 40 runs before a stunner of a delivery from James Anderson got the better of Rahul (46). It was initially turned down by the umpire before Joe Root went for the DRS which showed the ball took a faint edge before reaching Jonny Bairstow.
Since then, it was all Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara who dominated the English bowlers to cruise past England's first innings lead. The pair added a big century stand to help India get into the lead. Rohit eventually scored his well-deserved maiden overseas Test ton while Pujara crossed the 50-run mark for the second time in the series.
However, the second new ball brought some hope for England as Ollie Robinson removed both Rohit Sharma (127) and Cheteshwar Pujara (61) to have India at 237/2. But Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja regrouped well as the visitors were at 270/3 before bad light forced the umpires to call off the day's play.
On that note, let's take a look at some of the interesting stats that emerged on day 3 of the Oval Test.
#1. Rohit Sharma completes 11000 runs as an opener in international cricket
Team India opener Rohit Sharma has been in sublime form in the ongoing Test series against England. It got even better as the Mumbai-born batsman scored his first overseas Test century at the Oval on Saturday.
In the process, he completed 11000 runs in international cricket as an opener and became the 4th Indian to achieve this milestone. Rohit Sharma became the second-fastest batsman to reach the landmark in 246 innings behind Sachin Tendulkar, who achieved the feat in 241 innings.
Rohit Sharma completed 15000 runs in international cricket on Friday
#2. This is the first time ever that two Indian opening batsmen have both scored 300+ runs in a Test series against England
Despite a struggling middle-order, India have managed to put up decent totals, mainly due to Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul's consistent performances at the top.
While Rohit landed in England as first-choice opener, Rahul came into the playing XI after Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal sustained injuries ahead of the first Test. The Karnataka cricketer sealed his berth with a fifty and a hundred.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has registered two fifties and a hundred, which he scored in the ongoing game. Both are also India's highest run-scorers in this series, with Rahul amassing 315 runs while Rohit has 368 runs under his belt.
This is the first time both Indian openers have scored 300+ runs in a Test series against England - home or away.
#3. Rohit Sharma reaches 3000 Test runs
Rohit Sharma, who has been in sublime touch in the ongoing series, has completed his 3000 runs in Test cricket. He became the 23rd Indian cricketer to achieve the feat.
Overall, Rohit becomes the 199th batsman to reach 3000 runs in Test cricket.
Since making his debut in 2013, Rohit Sharma had managed only 1585 runs from 27 Test matches until 2018. Since 2019, Rohit has amassed 1462 runs from 16 matches, including five centuries.
#4. Rohit Sharma hits the slowest century of his Test career | 100 off 204 balls
Rohit Sharma scored the slowest Test century of his career. The hundred at the Oval came from 204 deliveries as India took a crucial lead in the second innings. Incidentally, his debut Test century at Eden Gardens came off 194 balls.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma reached his half-century in 145 balls, which is also the slowest of his Test career. His previous slowest 50 came in 132 balls at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2015. His only other 100+ balls half-century came in the previous Test at Headingley (in 125 balls).
Rohit eventually got out on a a false shot after a fine knock of 127 runs off Ollie Robinson.
#5. Rohit Sharma now has the most international hundreds by an Indian batsman in England | 9 centuries
Team India opener Rohit Sharma, who scored his maiden overseas Test hundred at the Oval on Saturday, now has nine centuries under his belt in England.
He now has the most international hundred by an Indian batsman in England. Rahul Dravid (8) is second on the list, followed by Sachin Tendulkar, who has scored seven tons in English conditions.
Rohit Sharma (9) also has the most number of hundreds among visiting openers in England. He leapfrogged Gordon Greenidge, who has eight under his name.
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