[Watch] Rohit Sharma-led India become first team to declare against England in Bazball era

The Rohit Sharma-led India became the first team to declare against England under skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum’s Bazball era on Day 4 of the third Test in Rajkot on Sunday, February 18.

That came as the hosts declared their second innings at 430/4 during the second session to set up a mammoth 557-run target for the visitors.

Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his second double-century in the series, scoring an unbeaten 214 runs off 236 balls, hitting 12 sixes and 14 boundaries. Shubman Gill and debutant Sarfaraz Khan also chipped in with 91 (151) and 68*(72), respectively.

The bowling unit looked in tatters as Joe Root, Rehan Ahmed, and Tom Hartley managed one wicket apiece.

TNT Sports shared a video of Rohit’s declaration call on X (formerly Twitter), writing:

“The 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 a team has declared against England in the Stokes-McCullum era.”

It was the 23rd Test for England under Stokes’ leadership. The latter has guided them to 14 wins so far.

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“That was the tone we wanted” – Ben Stokes points out where England lost to India by 434 runs in the 3rd Test

England captain Ben Stokes, meanwhile, has pointed out that the batting unit failed to consolidate a great start from Ben Duckett in the first innings after losing the game by 434 runs to go 1-2 behind in the five-match Test series.

The comments came as the visitors suffered a batting collapse, losing their last eight wickets for 95 runs in the first innings. England managed just 319 runs despite Duckett scoring 153 off 151 balls, hitting two sixes and 23 boundaries.

Stokes said in his post-match comments:

“Ben Duckett played an unbelievable innings. That was the tone we wanted to set throughout the innings. It was about identifying that opportunity and getting as close to India's total.

"We wanted to bowl yesterday, but it was earlier than when we wanted. Sometimes gameplans don't work and that was the case.”

The 32-year-old, however, backed the visitors to bounce back in the next Test. He said:

“1-2 down in the series and a great opportunity for us to come back and win the series. We leave this game behind and we know we have to win the next 2 games to win the series and that's what we'll look to do.”

The two teams will next face off in the fourth Test at JSCA Stadium in Ranchi, starting on February 23.

Click here to check out the full IND vs ENG 3rd Test scorecard.