Can India save the 3rd Test against England at Headingley?

[Firebat]

After having a horror first 2 days, in which they were bundled out for 78 followed by England scoring 432, India managed to pull it back somewhat on Day 3. They reached Stumps at 215/2, trailing by 139 runs, with Pujara (91*) and Kohli (45*) batting brilliantly.

With the pitch becoming more placid and the Indian batsmen looking more fluid, there seems to be a real chance that they could avoid loss after a hopeless situation on the 1st Day.

Can India bat out enough of these last 2 days to save the game (or perhaps even win it)?

 

[PakLFC]

Only hope for India is the weather. England will win it tomorrow.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Very hard to answer.
I think tomorrow's first session will be super important. This is when England has the best chance of getting a few break thrus, otherwise, the pitch has turned into a bowlers' graveyard. And India has a mighty batting line.

 

[prisha]

Sadly I don’t think so. Once wickets start falling a sure domino effect follows. I really wish it was otherwise and they can bat two more days.

 

[Firebat]

If India can make up the deficit with only 2 or 3 wickets down, then one of these overnight batsmen plus Rahane, Pant, Jadeja could string some real partnerships together to set a competitive target and make a game of this Test. However, a burst of wickets tomorrow morning will destroy any hope.

 

[Bewal Express]

I fancy an Ind victory. England rely too much on Root and if Ind get a lead of 150-170, they will win

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

England will collapse in the second innings as their entire batting line-up is a joke barring Root. I don't watch a lot of cricket now because of time but yesterday saw the match when England was batting and it didn't look like for a second that they were the team leading by almost 300 runs. Bairstow was playing as if it's a T20, no application, no grit to close out the match, Butler seems to only play okay against Pakistan, at this point it's hard to know why Moeen has played so many tests for England, and the others were just hapless.

This Hindustani side never gives up and once they are in the lead, England will panic and end up losing the test.

Hindustan can also play Ashwin in place of Ishant which strengthens both the batting and the bowling and with the next two tests in places that offer some semblance of spin, it's most probably going to be 0-4 to Hindustan unless the weather intervenes.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Normally my answer would be a big fat NO. But considering the pyrotechnics this team has displayed over the past year I am more than tempted to say YES. India has done a brilliant job in cutting down the trial to 139 runs. But the road to recovery is still too long. India need to bat out of their skin survive the whole day tomorrow. The main problem is after this pair there is only Rahane left. Pant cannot be trusted in this situation unless India has a lead of atleast 100 by the time he arrives. Which means the bulk of the runs need to be scored by the 3 batsman in our middle order.

 

[bantu]

With the batting display today they have given a glimmer of hope, which will be extinguished tomorrow morning ..

 

[gazza619]

You cannot save a test match with 4 number 11s in the line up.

Kohli needs to score a double hundred here. Pant has been found out. Rahane & Jadeja are not reliable on this track.

 

[Buffet]

Eng should comfortably win this test. Getting back after putting 70 odd runs in the first inning is extremely hard.

India has a long tail and 2 quick wickets with a new ball may result in Eng not having to bat again.

 

[Geil]

Its 80 % England win , 10 % India and 10% draw. It will be really incredible if India can win after conceding 350 odd runs lead in 1st innings.

Pujara is the key. If he stays then he not only will occupy one end but also allow others to play freely and aggressively on the other end.

If pujara falls in the morning session then India falls too I guess

 

[Ab Fan]

If India can bat 75-80 overs today, I will be more than happy but the most likely scenario is going to be Anderson or Robinson taking the wickets of Pujara and Kohli early morning today. Then it will just be the matter of not losing by an innings margin.

 

[street cricketer]

I don't even know the stats, but as
an avid watcher of test cricket, I'm pretty sure that saving a test after giving a lead of 350 runs has never happened in test cricket without weather interruptions. It just doesn't happen in Test cricket. What's more likely is that the new ball will bring wickets and the long Indian tail with 4 no.11s will be exposed once again. India lost the test when they got shot out for 70 odd runs in 3 hours on the first day. It's near impossible to make a comeback from that stage once England scored 400+ runs.

From my perspective, this 2nd innings should be used by India for two reasons:

1. Get the struggling Indian middle order batsmen back to form. India will still lose probably anyway but once again getting shot out under 200 in the 2nd innings would have been an unmitigated disaster and scarred the Indians for the rest of the series.

2. Put miles into the legs of the English pacers. It won't change the result of this game but this may play a part in the remaining two tests like it happened in the Australian series when the Aussie quicks were worn out on the final day at the Gabba after India made them bowl themselves into the ground at Sydney. Anderson has bowled 19 overs till now. India should somehow make him bowl at least 30 overs if they can and do the same for Robinson. Anderson is a very fit individual even at 39, but all those overs is bound to make some sort of an influence on him.

 

[pillionrider]

Why is there no option for a Win

 

[saintgrace]

New ball and India dommed.

 

[Advaith]

It doesn't need an expert to predict Indian loss here but today presents an opportunity of coming back from impossible position and contribution of players will be remembered for long if they can save this ..Kohli can rejuvenate himself or pujara ..It's not easy but yesterday's batting performance if continued it will be a good contest ..

 

[iRfaN_LA]

India to win this match. England is totally demoralized after yesterday blunt batting by Pujara.

 

[Varun]

It's a question of when we will lose, not if.

Be a bit of a win if we can stave off an innings defeat though.

 

[Thanos]

New ball will do tricks for Eng.
India will lose by an inning or set a target under 50 at best.

 

[sam_ahm]

Fans won't agree but my point of weak oppositions is once again proved. Irrespective of what happens from now on.

India got bowled out for 78, England were some 240/2, placid track, deflated bowlers and plenty of time left... and it was not even like India came all guns blazing... Yet in the last session of day 2 it never looked like England are bossing this game.

Any half decent team would have meant Buttler, Baristow and Ali helping England Post 550 or so until after lunch on day 3 and completely bat India out of the game.

Also the art of counter attacking innings is going out of fashion in modern cricket. Generally when such a solid platform is laid and then 2-3 quick wickets fall then a no. 6 or no. 7 scores a quick fire 60-70 to again put brakes on any sort of come back... England couldn't even do that through Ali, Curran or Buttler. As I said they never looked like a team bossing this game.

They may yet win, but the very fact that even after getting bundled out for 78 there are talks of India's fightback shows how England are letting things slip away.

Exactly how they let things slip away on the last day of 2nd test. If you tell me Bumrah and Shami are terrific batsmen who took the game away from England then I don't agree. They are not good batsmen. Eng allowed things to slip in 2nd test and again now in 3rd test it is not looking good for them.

Having said all that, this is not India's problem and I'm happy that we are winning. Please don't get me wrong. I'm just putting forward a general trend in cricket, plenty of weak teams who don't have proper test players barring one or two.

 

[dravidthewall]

Max 1 and half session india surview...England to win by an innings and 30 runs..collapse will on by taking new ball

 

[Walawalkar]

Fans won't agree but my point of weak oppositions is once again proved. Irrespective of what happens from now on.

India got bowled out for 78, England were some 240/2, placid track, deflated bowlers and plenty of time left... and it was not even like India came all guns blazing... Yet in the last session of day 2 it never looked like England are bossing this game.

Any half decent team would have meant Buttler, Baristow and Ali helping England Post 550 or so until after lunch on day 3 and completely bat India out of the game.

Also the art of counter attacking innings is going out of fashion in modern cricket. Generally when such a solid platform is laid and then 2-3 quick wickets fall then a no. 6 or no. 7 scores a quick fire 60-70 to again put brakes on any sort of come back... England couldn't even do that through Ali, Curran or Buttler. As I said they never looked like a team bossing this game.

They may yet win, but the very fact that even after getting bundled out for 78 there are talks of India's fightback shows how England are letting things slip away.

Exactly how they let things slip away on the last day of 2nd test. If you tell me Bumrah and Shami are terrific batsmen who took the game away from England then I don't agree. They are not good batsmen. Eng allowed things to slip in 2nd test and again now in 3rd test it is not looking good for them.

Having said all that, this is not India's problem and I'm happy that we are winning. Please don't get me wrong. I'm just putting forward a general trend in cricket, plenty of weak teams who don't have proper test players barring one or two.

So in your General theory of weak opposition there is no provision to give credit to other team... Whether your team lose or win it's all because of their deeds

 

[Mesozoic]

Some top tier reverse jinxing going on here.

 

[sam_ahm]

So in your General theory of weak opposition there is no provision to give credit to other team... Whether your team lose or win it's all because of their deeds

How can I give full credit to other team when they get bowled out for 78. Any good opposition should capitalize from there on, it's a fact.

Which strong team allows genuine tailenders to score 100 runs in no time and then shockingly end up losing the test, when they started off as favts to win on last day. It's a fact that a good side would have won or at the very least drawn that game, that too EASILY. It's a no brainer.

Why is it that most of India's wins lately in Australia and England are come from behind or sensational fight back wins?

 

[James]

Absolutely yes, India can save or even win the Test.

I do think the Day 4 scenario will be extremely challenging for them. The new ball will be taken by England’s impressive seamers straight away; conditions are also starting to spin for Moeen and Root; and there will be a chance of some reverse swing for Anderson later on.

India need to wipe out the deficit and get another 150-160 on the board to have a realistic chance of winning the Test match, so that is another 300 runs minimum. This would mean Pujara completing his hundred, an century for Kohli, and two out of Rahane, Pant, and Jadeja firing also.

So yes, possible, but really tough.

Looking forward to play starting.

 

[Walawalkar]

How can I give full credit to other team when they get bowled out for 78. Any good opposition should capitalize from there on, it's a fact.

Which strong team allows genuine tailenders to score 100 runs in no time and then shockingly end up losing the test, when they started off as favts to win on last day. It's a fact that a good side would have won or at the very least drawn that game, that too EASILY. It's a no brainer.

Why is it that most of India's wins lately in Australia and England are come from behind or sensational fight back wins?

Headingley 2019....Was that Australian team weak

 

[OMB]

so a collapse as predicted by so many. India succeeds in deceiving their fans again

 

[pillionrider]

Today, the sun was out and it was easier to bat compared to yesterday

 

[MenInG]

Why is there no option for a Win

You now understand the reason.

 

[pillionrider]

You now understand the reason.

Now you're betraying me

 

[Ami]

No.

 

[Ahmad-GERMANFC]

The number of times and regularity this india team collapses just does get as much attention as it should…