Indian cricket team opener Rohit Sharma smashed his seventh Test hundred to put the hosts in a strong position in the second Test against England on Saturday.

The right-handed batsman counter-attacked the England bowling on a pitch that offered turn from the first session. 

Rohit (161) stitched a 162-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane (67) for the fifth wicket to help India post 300 for six wickets at the end of the first day’s play at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. India's wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant (33) and debutant Axar Patel (5) were still batting at the crease.

Interestingly, this was Rohit’s first Test century in over a year and after eight Test innings.

Meanwhile, former cricketers and fans took to Twitter to hail the swashbuckling innings of Rohit.

Earlier in the day, India had lost Shubman Gill (0), Cheteshwar Pujara (21) and Virat Kohli in the first session. 

Rohit and Rahane handled the England bowlers with ease as they made sure Team India didn’t lose any more wickets in the second session.

Kohli-led India had won the crucial toss on a dry wicket and elected to bat in the morning. The hosts made three changes in their playing XI from the first Test at the same venue. 

India decided to rest their premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and brought in Mohammed Siraj. Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Axar Patel made his Test debut replacing Washington Sundar.

On the other hand, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav was included in the playing XI after almost two years in place of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem. 

For England, pace bowler Stuart Broad came in for James Anderson while Olly Stone replaced the injured Jofra Archer. The visitors also included all-rounder Moeen Ali in place of Dom Bess and wicket-keeper Ben Foakes for Jos Buttler.

Joe Root's England had defeated India by 227 runs in the first Test, taking a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ICC

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Ajinkya RahaneVirat KohliRishabh PantAxar PatelIndiaRohit SharmaEnglandIndia vs England Social Buzz