#2- Hardik Pandya's bowling & Rishabh Pant's debut
Before the start of the third Test match, Michael Holding, the former West Indian great said, " Hardik Pandya is not a Test allrounder yet. He is not effective as a batsman and lacks control and consistency with the ball."
We are not sure if that excited Hardik Pandya, but he looked all charged up against England in the first innings, as he took his career's first 5 wicket haul.
We will look at his bowling performance on the next page, but meanwhile, let's find out how the lower order of both the teams performed.
In the first innings, there was hardly any difference separating both the teams. Indian lower order scored a total of 56 runs in comparison to England's 57 runs. Joss Buttler scored a quick fire 39 runs in just 32 balls.
For India, Rishabh Pant had a dream debut. Facing only his second ball, he got off the mark with a flashy down the track six to Adil Rashid. He may have scored a gritty 24, but the maturity with which he batted was beyond his years. He also became the first Indian wicket keeper to take 5 dismissals in an innings on debut.
The performance by England's lower order in the second innings was the only time they dismantled the Indian bowling. Joss Buttler and Ben Stokes just refused to give up. The pair had a partnership of 169 runs between them with Buttler scoring a brilliant 106 in 176 deliveries.
Overall, England's lower order contributed a total of 172 runs in 366 deliveries. The dot ball percentage being at 80.6%. For India, Hardik Pandya made a useful 52* of the total 54 runs scored by the Indian lower order.
Similar to previous two Test matches, England's lower order again made some valuable contributions.
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