Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar has praised the Indian batsmen for their technical changes that have provided a successful result in the first day of the third Test against the hosts England at Trent Bridge (Nottingham).

After the batting disaster in first two Tests of the ongoing five-match Test series, finally, Indian batsmen showed some respectable fights in front of English bowlers on Saturday in the first innings of the third Test as they finished the day on 307/6, their first 300+ total in this tour.

After losing the toss, India was sent to bat first. For the overall good batting performance on the day one, Bangar has pointed out the good opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, which was a 60-run partnership.

Bangar said according to ESPNcricinfo, “The most important thing was the opening partnership was according to our expectation. In the previous two Tests we were losing two or three wickets inside the first 15 overs. Because of that the middle order was walking in early in difficult conditions. It was not just the start but also the way they were batting was good.”

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After waiting more than two years, Dhawan finally played a 30+ Test innings outside the Asian soil. Making a comeback in this Test, Dhawan provided a good start and scored 35 runs before getting caught out at the second slip.

Bangar has praised both the openers and he feels it can lead to improving their performances in rest of the Test series.

The Indian batting coach quoted, “The way Shikhar made the changes to his batting, the way he reduced his bat speed, the way he played the ball later, these adjustments he made in the last six or seven days, he should get credit. KL Rahul, too, was playing on the back foot, he was reacting after the ball’s movement. These changes the batsmen have made make me hopeful for the rest of the series. With five more innings left, if our batsmen can play in the same way, their performance graph will carry on to improve.”

While the Indian top-order batting was too defensive in the first two Tests, Saturday observed a good level of run flow from the Indian batsmen which has released their initial pressures quickly. Bangar has pointed out the very fast outfield at Trent Bridge that brings the good results on properly connected shots.

Bangar said, “We all realise that the outfield is very, very fast here in Nottingham. So you get value for your shots. Because the ball is swinging, the way it has been, you always have a lot of players in catching positions. It leaves big gaps in the field, so if you get bat on ball, time it well, there is always value for… I don’t think any side can control run rate here beyond a certain limit because value for shots, it is a fast outfield, anybody timing the ball will get value for shots.”

While the openers provided a good start, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and the vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane put a crucial 159-run partnership for the fourth wicket to set a good first innings total on the board.

While the in-form Kohli just missed his century by losing his wicket on 97 runs, Rahane (81 runs) scored his first half-century in last 14 Test innings.

Talking about Rahane, Bangar said, “His mindset was very clear. He was very positive, his feet were moving well. He was getting into good positions…at times there can be a lapse in concentration which can lead to losing your wicket, which had happened in the previous Test. But he seemed to be in good nick and he capitalised, put us in a good position and he would be hurting because a big score was on the cards.”