Chasing a mammoth 399 against India, England ended day three’s play at 67/1 and required 332 more to win in 2 days with 9 wickets in hands. India have been phenomenal so far with both bat and ball. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill launched run fests against a spin-heavy English attack while Jasprit Bumrah ran riot with a 6-wicket haul, registering 6 for 45 – his career-best figures in Tests at home.
Given the firepower in India’s bowling arsenal, the chase of 399 seems to be an uphill task for England but former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel feels that the visitors can go all guns blazing in pursuit of a second consecutive win in this series.
Speaking on Jio Cinema after the third day’s play, Patel opined that England’s batting is still a major threat to India, pointing out how England were able to score more than 400 runs in Hyderabad where the track was even worse.
“There is no doubt that there are major threats. And right now Zak Crawley is batting well and at the crease, so I think England have what it takes to win from here. They can definitely win because there are 332 runs left, but the form of the batting has also been good,” Parthiv Patel told Jio Cinema.
“Another is that when you played in Hyderabad on a bad wicket, you scored more than 400 runs there in the second innings. So England definitely has that batting to complete this run chase,” he added.
India are pretty much in the game: Gill
Shubman Gill believes the hosts are pretty much in the game after setting a daunting target of 399 for England. He got his third Test century in India’s second innings total of 255, slamming 104 off 147 balls which was also his first hundred as a number three batter in the longest format of the game.
“I think it is a pretty decent wicket to bat on. Run scoring is not easy, you can’t hit on the rise, and you have to apply yourself because the odd one is turning and keeping low. Hopefully, if we get the right number of balls in the right area tomorrow, we’ll get the job done,” Gill said after the third day’s play.
“We are pretty much in the game; I think it is about 70-30 at the moment. I think the morning session will be important because we have seen moisture for the quicker bowlers and spinners so if you get the right number of balls in the right area it should be good,” he added.
Comments
0 comment