The third cricket test between India and England seems to be heading to a draw. With the two England openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss standing as a wall scoring 56 runs for no loss in the 20 overs of the day, fifth day seems to be routing for a draw. However, Anil Kumble’s form with the ball and the bat shows signs of taking India to victory. Lets see what happens today!
India opting to bat themselves rather than giving the follow-on to the English batsmen set a target of 499 for the England team to score on the final day. Nevertheless, the two England openers battled valiantly against the Indian bowling attack giving the home side a glimpse of survival.
However, time ahead on the fifth and final day is not going to be easy for England, with almost all the Indian bowlers in grueling form, especially pacer Zaheer and spin legend Kumble, whose century with the bat in the first innings must have further boosted his confidence. While in bowling he overtook Glen McGrath in most wickets in test cricket.
Even if defeat looks improbable for India, there are few eyebrows raised on their slower approach with the bat in the second innings, wasting a lot of precious time, with the captain leading from the front scoring the slowest 12 runs in test cricket. Also, the declaration came so late, giving the England batsmen enough time to strategize.
Amidst all this, the question remains will India achieve its first test series victory in England in 21 years, taking all the 10 England wickets or England will succeed in spoiling India’s party by salvaging their 10 wickets? By the end of the day, our answer will be replied today.
Via: BBC
