The second Test of the five-match series between India and England is tantalizingly poised with two days remaining in the game. Team India still needs 9 wickets to secure a win and level the series. On the other hand, England needs 332 runs to clinch victory and take a 2-0 lead. England finished Day 3 at 67/1, chasing a massive target of 399. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley (29*) played their shots brilliantly to give England a fine start. Rehan Ahmed (9*) did his job well as a night watchman.

Earlier, England had a good start to the day as its premier pacer James Anderson dismissed Indian openers in his successive overs. First, he cleaned up the hosts’ skipper Rohit Sharma with a ripper and then got the big fish Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a superb double ton in the first innings. However, the England spinners failed to build on the momentum allowing Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer to add 81 runs for the third wicket.

Gill and Axar Patel stitched a crucial 89-run partnership to take India to a good position. Gill’s inning was a treat to the cricket fans as he played shots full of skills, reaching his third Test century and ending his 12-innings drought. However, India’s downfall started when Shoaib Bashir scalped Gill for 104. Very shortly, Axar departed after playing a crucial inning of 45 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin managed to add 29 runs, helping India to reach 255 in their second innings. Hartley starred with a four-wicket haul while Ahmed picked up three.

In reply, England’s openers wasted no time and started to score runs freely from the very first over. Duckett and Crawley scored at 4.78 runs per over. Ashwin gave India a much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Duckett for 28. Indian bowlers will look for an excellent start on Day 4 and they have to show good variations in their lines and lengths to get quick wickets.