Former England captain Michael Vaughan isn't counting India completely out of the third Test despite a flop show in the first innings. Vaughan feels India still have a very small chance to not only save the Test match but register a win at Headingley.
England bowled out India for 78 in the first innings and then piled up 432 runs in reply. The visitors now need to first level the lead of England, 354 runs, and then set a competitive target which looks like an uphill task.
Virat Kohli and company managed to score 215/2 at the end of the third day's play in Leeds.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Vaughan said India needs to survive the morning session on Day 4 and they could come back in the game just because of the venue.
"They are miles behind the game and it's never been done before what India have been asked to do from this position. But if they can get through that morning session and just lose one wicket, I honestly think there's something that could happen in this Test match, because of the venue.
"Things happen at this venue. I don't know what it is, Ben Stokes, Beefy (Ian Botham) in '81, special and silly things happen in the Test format here at this venue. We know India can lose 4 wickets in the morning and it's done. But if they lose just 1, they'll have the sneaky sniff of doing something special," he said.
Team India are currently 139 runs behind England with eight wickets in hand. Cheteshwar Pujara (91* off 180) and Virat Kohli (45* off 94) were in the middle at the end of day three.
Earlier, Ben Stokes had turned the match for England and took them to a 1-wicket win with his unbeaten 135-run knock against Australia in the 2019 Ashes at this venue.
Vaughan praised England captain Joe Root for his smart tactics to use spinners after the bad light came into play on Day 3. The umpires wanted to walk off but the English captain used spinners to continue the play.
"The pitch has slowed down, I don't think there's any real pace in it (just) the odd ball bounces. There's a bit of spin... The second ball is key and that's why I thought Joe Root was quite smart tonight, getting through with the spinners. As soon as he got to 80, he never really wanted to bowl tonight because he wanted that second new ball in the morning," he said.
India will have to be careful in the first hour of Day 4 which could be tough to tackle considering the moisture on the pitch. "We know that at Headingley, the first hour of any day - there's always a little bit more moisture in the surface. The first hour tomorrow won't be easy, we generally see a lot of wickets fall. But what I will say is, if India can nullify that first session and not lose too many, in the afternoon it will be absolutely fine for batting because the sun's going to shine," he added.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
