IND vs ENG: 2nd Test – England fight back after Rohit Sharma’s epic knock

India and England shared the honours on day one of the ongoing second Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. While India scored 300 runs on the day, England managed to take six wickets. Rishabh Pant and debutant Axar Patel will resume the proceedings with the bat on day two as India will look to cross the 400-run mark. Here are the talking points of the day:

1. Rohit Sharma ends century drought:

On a scale of 1-10, how good was @ImRo45 today?#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/NyoNBheDrw

— 100MB (@100MasterBlastr) February 13, 2021

Rohit Sharma finally ended his century drought in Tests with a superb knock of 161. His knock came off 231 deliveries and was studded with 18 fours and a couple of sixes. Rohit looked in a positive mood right from the start as he reached a 47-ball fifty before slowing down a bit after India lost a couple of big wickets in quick succession. Prior to his latest century, Rohit had not scored one for more than a year. His last century had come in October 2019 when he played the sublime 212-run knock against South Africa.

2. Virat Kohli’s wait goes on:

While Rohit Sharma has ended his century drought in Tests, his skipper Virat Kohli’s drought is yet to end as he departed for a five-ball duck. The right-handed batsman has not scored a century in Tests since his ton against Bangladesh in November 2019. It is also his last century in international cricket. Hopes were high from Kohli after his fighting 75-run knock in the second innings of the first Test but the India batting star was undone by a beauty from Moeen Ali.

3. Rohit Sharma-Ajinkya Rahane partnership:

Crowd back in stands ✅
Ball spinning on Day 1 ✅
And a Hitman special ✅

A 162-run partnership between Rohit and Rahane kept #TeamIndia at bay on day one of the second Test ??

?? – 300/6 at Stumps.#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #INDvENG @ImRo45 @BCCI pic.twitter.com/XR6xNwo7UZ

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) February 13, 2021

India were in a spot of bother in the very first session of the game before Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane bailed them out of trouble. The hosts were yet to open their account when Olly Stone dismissed in-form Shubman Gill for a duck. It was followed by an 85-run stand between Rohit and Cheteshwar Pujara before England dismissed the latter and Virat Kohli in quick succession to leave India reeling at 86 for 3. But before the visitors could pile more pressure on the home side, Rohit and Rahane steadied the ship and went on to share a 162-run stand.