England are chasing 399 to win the Vizag Test and finished the third day at 67/1 in the 14 overs they batted in the final session. James Anderson, who took 2/29 in 10 overs in the Indian second innings, spoke about the words of encouragement given by his coach Brendon McCullum.
India were bowled out for 255 in their second innings. Shubman Gill (204) got the third Test from him and played an important role in India reaching that score. Axar Patel scored 45 and finished as India’s second-highest scorer in the second innings. Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin scored 29 each.
For England, Tom Hartley got 4/77 and Rehan Ahmed got 3/88 after James Anderson scored the first goals in quick succession. England need another 332 runs to win with two more days left in the Test match.
Meanwhile, Anderson after the third day’s play talked about Brendon McCullum’s pep talk that very well justifies his “Bazball” Approach to Test cricket. There is a good chance that the second test like the first will end within four days.
We feel good in the game: James Anderson
The England pacer spoke to TNT Sports after the end of the day and said that McCullum told them that they could even chase 600 if India managed to post a big total. England earlier scored 378 against India in Birmingham in the 2021-22 series. Once again they are backed to pursue almost 400 in Indian conditions.
“We feel good in the game. We sat next to the coach. [Brendon McCullum] last night and said, “if India gets 600 forward, we will try to chase them.” And that’s exactly what we’re going to try to do.” Anderson said.
“Today we fulfilled our task very well. They partnered at one point, but the way the spinners kept going, kept working, was brilliant. Now we are in a great position and tomorrow we are going to try well.” he further added.
Talking about India’s performance in the second innings, they had no intention of scoring runs, especially in the last session of play when India quickly lost those behind. England captain Ben Stokes took a positive approach during the second innings. He made wickets out of nothing to get his team back into the game.
Trailing by 332, England have now given themselves a good chance of winning the match on day four. Former England captain Kevin Pietersen spoke about this modern England that plays to win and does not take a step back. Stokes, as England captain, won 14 of 19 Test matches with five defeats and only one draw.
The captain scored a brave 47 before being cleaned out by jasprit bumrah in the first entrance and has the key to the chase also in the second entrance. England are well placed to win the test match and a victory for the team will be nothing short of a historic moment. Meanwhile, it will make India’s comeback almost impossible in the rest of the series.
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