IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Why England Will Start Their Innings In Rajkot At 5/0

IND vs ENG 3rd Test: England are set to commence their first innings at 5/0 in Rajkot after India were penalised.

India's Dhruv Jurel and Ravichandran Ashwin run between the wickets during the second day of the 3rd cricket Test match between India and England, at Niranjan Shah Stadium, in Rajkot.

Source : PTI

England are all set to start their first innings in the ongoing third Test of the five-match series against India at 5/0. The home team were penalised after their batters were found to be running on the 'protected area' of the pitch by the on-field umpires. While Indian were given a warning after Ravindra Jadeja was spotted running on the proteced area of the pitch on Day 1 of the third Test match, on Day 2 it was Ravichandran Ashwin who was the culprit while he was batting with debutant wicketkeepe Dhruv Jurel.

It all happened in the 102nd of the Indian first innings. When Ashwin played a push gently off Rehan Ahmed towards the off-side and started running for a single, he seemingly took a few steps towards the protected area of the pitch before he perhaps relaised the mistake and started running away from it. However, umpire Joel Wilson was alert and noticed Ashwin running on an area of the pitch where he is not allowed and immediately signalled 5 runs awarded to the visiting side.

IND vs ENG: Why Were India Penalised 5 Runs In Rajkot Test?

It is pertinent to note that Jadeja had already been warned for such an offence in the opening day of the third Test match. Post that when Ashwin was seen running on the pitch, there was no hesitation in the mind of the umpire to signal 5 penalty runs. Even though the Indian cricketer was seen having a discussion with the umpire, Wilson was in no mood to change his mind. 

As far as the match is concerned, India recovered from early wickets to end Day 1 on 326/5. Hundreds from Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and a quickfire fifty from Sarfaraz Khan helped their cause. Post that, India lost two early wickets on Day 2 with both the overnight batters Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav walking back to the pavilion. However, Ravichandran Ashwin and debutant wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel have since then stitched a solid partnership to take India near 400.