ENG vs IND | Rohit Sharma hits first overseas Test ton at Oval

Finally, after not converting starts in the series against England and earlier in Australia, Rohit Sharma scored his first century in an overseas Test. He smashed Moeen Ali over long-on in the afternoon session of the third day to reach the marquee landmark.

He has been the best Indian batsman so far in the series against England and it was only fitting that his century is setting up the game for the tourists.

He smashed 12 fours and one six to reach the three-figure mark.

India were trailing behind by 99 runs and he led the riposte with the opening partnership with Rahul and then carried on with a 100-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara to take India’s lead closer to 100.

He had scored 83 in the second Test at Lord’s but was undone by James Anderson’s jaffa and the right-hander was more than eager to get the monkey of not having an away ton off his back. He has amassed more than 300 runs across the four Tests of the series so far and with Rahul has formed a nearly impermeable wall for the England bowlers.

Earlier in the day, he also went past the 3000-run mark in Tests on the back of eight hundred and 14 half-centuries.

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3rd T20I Preview: Bangladesh eye another series win, NZ in pursuit of resurgence

New Zealand certainly got something to cheer about when they finally got some runs under their belt on this tour of Bangladesh in the second T20I in Dhaka. Though, this wasn’t really enough to help them equalise the five-match bilateral tie. The visitors missed out on what could have been a satisfactory win by just 4 runs in this second clash. Batting first, Bangladesh were off to a steady start after the openers Naim and Liton Das who had failed in the first game got back among runs and stitched a stand of 59 runs for the first wicket. The New Zealand bowlers though got themselves back into the hunt and picked up some wickets at regular intervals to reduce the side to 109/5. But Mahmudullah and Nurul Hasan made sure that the hosts reached a defendable total. Bangladesh eventually managed to put 141/6 in the allotted 20 overs. On some other day and on a different track, this target would have been an easy task but not on this pitch and especially the way the Kiwis had fared with the bat in the last clash. In fact, they didn’t really have a great start to the proceedings in the second match as well after once again spinners did the trick for them and scalped some early wickets during the course. While Latham held the fort from one end, he didn’t really find much support from the other and the Blackcaps lost the second match of the series on the trot. But the visitors did have some positives to take away from their last outing and that was not surrendering on a strip that didn’t really have anything on offer for the batting unit. Match Details Match: BAN vs NZ, 3rd T20I, New Zealand tour of Bangladesh, 2021 Date: Sunday, September 05, 2021 Time: 3:30 PM Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka Telecast: FanCode App Pitch Report The pitch in Dhaka is expected to have something on offer for the bowlers, especially spinners. This was evident in the first game while the spinners did dominate in the second as well. So, if you win the toss, elect to bat. Team News Bangladesh: The Bangladesh openers who failed to leave a mark in the first match gave a solid start to the team in the second. The spinners have been in good form for the hosts while Mustafizur Rahman went for some runs in the second match but is still an integral part of this setup. The left-arm bowler’s ability to bowl slow, back of the hand deliveries have become a highlight in the recent past and he has been getting wickets as well. New Zealand: Finn Allen and Matt Henry will be available for selection in this match. Henry had come into the side as Allen’s replacement initially. Allen had tested positive for Covid-19 upon his arrival in Dhaka earlier which subsequently forced the management to call Henry. But the right-handed batsman later returned two negative tests. The visitors are likely to tweak the final XI for this game. Probable XI Bangladesh: Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah (capt), Nurul Hasan (wk), Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed New Zealand: Rachin Ravindra, Finn Allen, Tom Latham (capt & wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie, Doug Bracewell, Ajaz Patel, Hamish Bennett, Matt Henry Fantasy XI Nurul-Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tom Latham, Liton Das, Will Young, Mahedi Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Rachin Ravindra (VC), Cole McConchi, Mustafizur Rahman, Ajaz Patel