The Indian cricket team have an upper hand in the second Test of the five-match series against England. England ended Day 3 at 67/1 and still need 332 runs to win with 9 wickets in hand. India were wrapped up for 255 runs in their second innings and set up a target of 399 runs for the visitors to chase down in the second innings and also lead the series 2-0. However, the Indian bowlers will want to put pressure on England and win the second Test match to level the series.
However, despite having a good lead in the match, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has warned India ahead of Day 4 of the second Test. Pietersen wrote in a tweet on ‘X’ and believes that the English team will be aiming to chase down the target on Day 4. He also hailed England’s bowling performance on Day 3 and stated that the team and the captaincy both were very good.
Kevin Pietersen gives a warning to India ahead of Day 4 of the second Test match
He wrote, “How good was England today? Needed 10 wickets and got 10 wickets. Captaincy and team v v v good! The Indian team going to bed this evening, will at the back of their minds, know, the wicket is still good & England will only try and win this game tomorrow. It’s going to be fun!”
How good was England today?
Needed 10 wickets and got 10 wickets. Captaincy and team v v v good!The Indian team going to bed this evening, will at the back of their minds, know, the wicket is still good & England will only try and win this game tomorrow.
It’s going to be…
— Kevin Pietersen
(@KP24) February 4, 2024
Day 3 of the second IND vs ENG Test match also belonged to Indian batsman Shubman Gill, who slammed the 3rd century of his Test career. This was an under-pressure hundred from Gill as he had just scored 160 runs from the last 10 Test matches. Gill was criticised for his bad form and also there were speculations that he would be excluded from the team for the last three Tests.
However, Shubman Gill’s knock of 104 runs from 147 balls has shut the mouth of all the critics and he has once again cemented his place in the side. On the other hand, Axar Patel was also close to reaching a half-century but got out after scoring 47 runs. The Indian middle and lower order failed to add many runs and India ended up on a very low score at the end of their second innings. India were 211/4 at Tea on Day 3, the hosts lost all six wickets in the final session and were only able to score 44 runs.
While the Indian team are currently favorites to win the match, the hosts will not relegate England’s batting lineup. The pitch is very suitable for batting as the cracks have opened up as it would have had. The spinners are also not getting as much help as they would expected from the surface.
However, the onus will be on Jasprit Bumrah who ended up with 6 wickets in the first innings. He will once again bring the reverse swing into play and will hope to strike once again for India. India would want to win the match and also recover the loss they faced in the WTC standings after losing the first Test match.
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