Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has spoken about Team India’s plans for the fourth day’s play as they gear up to add to their lead in the third innings and post a huge total for England to chase down in the ongoing fifth Test match in Edgbaston.
India ended day 3 on 125/3 with a lead of 257 runs after England was bowled out for 284 in reply to India’s first innings total of 416 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara is batting on 50*, while 1st innings centurion Rishabh Pant is 30*.
"I am sure Pant will bat a little more aggressively (on Day 4). On Sunday, he reined himself in since stumps were approaching and India wanted to end the day on a positive note. He did play some good flick shots when the ball was in his arc. India will not be thinking about how much time is left in the Test as of now. It will just be about batting normally, adding runs and playing positively, just as they have been doing in the Test," Khan told Cricbuzz.
Khan, a veteran of 92 Tests with 311 wickets to his name in a 14-year international career, further discussed the evening session of Day 3. He said that the last session was shared between England and India, pointing out bowling spells from James Anderson and Ben Stokes.
"According to me, the last session of play on Day 3 was a shared one. I really liked Ben Stokes’ spell. Anderson also bowled really well, as did Broad and Potts. Runs were scored and too many wickets did not fall. But it was a really exciting session of Test cricket. There was some good batting and bowling as well," Khan said.
England needs to win this Test match to draw level in the series, while India needs to draw or win to win the series in which they lead by 2-1.
