India is staring at one more test defeat away from as England took firm control of the proceedings in the third Investec Test match at Aegeas Bowl in Southampton. At stumps India were at 112/4 with Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane still on the crease.
Earlier in the day England wrapped off India’s tail very early as India only managed to add 7 runs to their overnight tally of 323/8. Mahendra Singh 
Dhoni went out on 50 as he failed to save the follow on. However England did not force the follow on in order to provide their bowlers some rest. As they came on to bat for second time in the match they put on 205/4 when Alistair Cook (70*) decided that they had enough of it and it was time to go for the final kill. India’s target was set at 445 as they had more than four sessions to bat on.
Having been set a huge target of 445 to chase down in one and a half day India made a poor start. The worst thing that happened was Murali Vijay’s run out when he was looking good on 12. Pujara also could not stay on the field for a long time as his edge of the bat of Moeen Ali’s bowling was taken at slip by Chris Jordan when he was on 2. Shikhar Dhawan (37) stayed on the crease for a longer spell but finally succumbed to Joe Root’s spin when he edged it to slip, the dismissal being almost similar to that of Pujara’s. Virat Kohli yet again gave away his wicket after getting set on 28. Ajinkya Rahane has looked solid in his short stay at the end of the day although Rohit Sharma did not look convincing enough to stay for a longer time.
On the fifth day it will be the real big test of the Indian batting line up for 
they have to bat out 90 overs in order to save the test match and hold on o the 1-0 lead in the series. They can take inspiration from the recent test match in Sri Lanka where South Africa batted out the whole day to save the test match on a pitch which suited the spinners and it is a known fact that the Proteans are not that good at playing spin. India is quite capable of doing the same thing. For that they will have to be choosy regarding their shot selections and avoid playing false shots. Also they have to play out James Anderson carefully for the pitch seems to be perfectly suited for reverse swing and Anderson’s capability of making the ball swing in reverse direction is not an unknown fact. Anyway, it will be an exciting battle between the bat and the ball in the final day of the third test match. England is on top and is looking good for a deserved win. But you never know since the Indians are always capable of doing the unthinkable.
