Another good partnership would definitely take this lead to 150 and can put India to driver’s seat. On the other hand, England’s priority would be to break this partnership early in the day and bring Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj to the crease as early as possible.
A blazing hundred from Rishabh Pant took India to a position of control at the end of Day 2 in the ongoing fourth Test against England. They now lead by 89, and have three wickets in hand. At the crease are Washington Sundar (60) and Axar Patel (11). Both have decent, near-identical First-Class (Sundar 33.38, Axar 33.54). India will expect them to bat for most of the first session on Day 3. Another good partnership may stretch India’s lead to 150.
England, on the other hand, will want to break the partnership as soon as possible and get Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj to the crease. They can barely afford to concede more runs. And to mop up the tail, they will count on James Anderson to utilise the morning freshness of the pitch. The new ball is only 14 overs old. With 3-40 under his belt, Anderson will be raring to go, with Ben Stokes and Jack Leach for company.
Unfortunately, they do not have enough options to fall back on. Dom Bess was a disappointment on Day 2, conceding 56 runs in 15 overs without a wicket. He bowled too many full tosses that the Indian batsmen easily put away. Neither could Joe Root manage to replicate his success from the previous Test match.
But England’s battle will be far from over even if they manage to get the last three Indian wickets cheaply. The pitch has started to produce turn and Indian spinners will be relentless. Axar and R Ashwin have proved to be difficult to get away. They will undoubtedly get good support from Siraj and Ishant, and if needed, Sundar. The English batsmen need to dig in and apply themselves, playing on merit of the ball and not the bowlers. They will hope for a big innings from Root, and support from Jonny Bairstow and Stokes. If they can build a big partnership and go to the fourth day with wickets intact, England can hope for a sizable third-innings score and put pressure on India.
As always, the first hour of the day will be crucial for both the teams. India will hope to bat England out of the match, whereas England will hope to keep the lead as minimum as possible.
On Day 2, Pant scored his maiden Test century on home soil, showcasing an incredible range of shots. His most audacious shots came within the first three overs of the second new ball, all of them off Anderson. He stepped out and lofted over mid-off, flat-batted past point, then reverse-flicked – all of them for four.
Before that, India were in a spot of bother at 146/6. England might even have contemplated a lead at that point, but Pant and Sundar foiled their plans with a 113-run stand. Both were circumspect to begin with, but played some exquisite shots once they were set. Axar kept Sundar company after Pant was dismissed for 101.