This is going to be a Great game of Test cricket at the Oval. When the game started on Thursday, England put India under pressure by bowling them out for 224 runs. Everyone was seeing the England taking a big lead when they came out to bat in their first innings but credit goes to Siraj and co who showcase their good bowling in the second session of Day 2 and eventually England got all-out for 247. India’s second innings also didn’t started well they lost KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan early. India send Akashdeep as night-watchman with Jaiswal at the other end.
On Day 3, India’s batting unit really showcase their resilience England were unable to dismiss Akashdeep and he scored a very important half-century and on the other end Jaiswal also scored a prolific century after getting out cheap in the first innings. Pressure totally built on England and it didn’t stopped there India’s lower down the order batters also scored vital runs. The man in form Ravindra Jadeja once again scored a half-century and previous match centurian Washington Sundar made a 50, Dhruv Jurel contributed 34 runs for India. India took a lead of 373 runs over England.
England came to chase with same attacking mentality in the second innings, Ben duckett is on the pitch playing on 34 runs , Zak Crawley got out to Siraj on the last ball of the stumps at Day 3.
Insights and takeaways:
It was well seen on Day 3 that if the weather is clear this surface is good for batting, 400+ runs scored on Day 3. According to BBC, weather is once again set to fair on Day 4 too with some little chance of drizzle later in the afternoon. No rain in the morning session and with sun likely to be out England will be hopeful to score some quick runs and put India under pressure.
Jaiswal’s statement after scoring a brilliant century in the second innings:
“I think it’s very important for all of us that we need to keep pushing ourselves. And this was our last innings here. So, mentally I was ready, and I had to keep pushing on and try to get as much as I could,” he said.
“Of course, after seeing the wicket in the first inning, I was thinking what would be the best option on this wicket? And I was just trying to play like that and be positive. My intent was very good, that I wanted to put pressure on the bowler — where they are going to bowl and where I can score runs. So my mentality is always like that. I think positively and go for my shots,” Jaiswal added.
I saw Rohit bhai and I said hi to him. He gave me the message to keep playing,” he said.
Jaiswal also admitted that the surface played better after India opted for a heavy roller in the morning. However, by his own admission, ‘there is enough bounce’. “If we keep bowling in the channel, it will be amazing. There is always movement on the wicket. It’s not that easy to bat,” he said, hoping for the bowlers to come good in the second innings.
“Of course, we are quite confident. We just need to focus on our process and keep bowling in the right areas. That’s what we are thinking, and we will try our best. Of course, we are all enjoying ourselves here. We want this. We want fun. We want some battle in the middle,” he said, adding with a smile, “That is the fun. That’s why you play Test cricket…”
All in all, this is a great test match in the making. Who will come ahead on Day 4? Let’s stick to our blogs we will cover every event in the match.
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