[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by NPV

I think 300+ lead will be good, just to be on safer side.
Unless England comes up with some magical bowling followed by great batting to chase down the target, this should be India's game, probably 70-30 in India's favour right now.

The way 2021 is turning out for Test Cricket, even I feel 350+ is a must for India. We have another three days to go which makes tomorrow's day a decider. If England bowl well and get India all out with just 75-125 runs more then they shall fancy an outside chance. Fingers crossed that we don't mess up tomorrow.

[Garth]

And as expected the moaning begins. Michael Vaughan at it this time.

Why is a spinning pitch not considered sporting enough? How come a green top at Lords is a good pitch, but not a spinning pitch at Chepauk is not?

[harry10]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

The way 2021 is turning out for Test Cricket, even I feel 350+ is a must for India. We have another three days to go which makes tomorrow's day a decider. If England bowl well and get India all out with just 75-125 runs more then they shall fancy an outside chance. Fingers crossed that we don't mess up tomorrow.

You must be kidding or you aren't watching the match and just following it online. Even if India declares overnight then also England will lose with atleast 50 runs. 54-1 so I can safely assume we will cross 200 which will give us a 400+ lead. The way Ashwin and Patel were spinning the balI i don't see England making more than 150 in second innings. This match is in the bag!

[pandey.jai]

The match situation is definitely in India’s favor at the moment and given there are 3 more days to go, I’d say India can bat out the whole of tomorrow and maybe a session on day 4. Give the batsmen some time in the middle to get their confidence back, have the English players endure some more of the Chennai heat, bat England out of the game and more importantly, give a bit of a breather to Ashwin and Axar. Ashwin in particular has been bowling long spells since the first test started.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by harry10

You must be kidding or you aren't watching the match and just following it online. Even if India declares overnight then also England will lose with atleast 50 runs. 54-1 so I can safely assume we will cross 200 which will give us a 400+ lead. The way Ashwin and Patel were spinning the balI i don't see England making more than 150 in second innings. This match is in the bag!

Haha! This is what everyone said when India toured Australia, WI touring Bangladesh and so forth. Cricket is great because there have been players who have performed when fans, pitch, conditions etc have given up on them. For the love of the game, I would like to see England push the game till day 5 lunch atleast.

[NPV]

Pujara gets run out & almost immediately Rohit is out stumped. Damn, what a morning!

[Chetan_Rao]

Rather unfortunate for Pujara. I haven't seen a bat-stuck-in-surface run-out in a while.

Top glovework from Foakes for the stumpings. Rare to see world-class keeping in the era of batsmen-who-can-keep-wickets.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by Garth

And as expected the moaning begins. Michael Vaughan at it this time.

Why is a spinning pitch not considered sporting enough? How come a green top at Lords is a good pitch, but not a spinning pitch at Chepauk is not?

The problem with the pitches in the current and previous test matches is that the team winning the toss and batting first gets a huge advantage. Between similarly talented teams, it is almost like the outcome of the match is decided by the toss.

[NPV]

Rahane out, India 86-5. If England have more than 2 days to chase the target, I think that will play a bit on Kohli's mind but at the moment doesn't seem like anything can be done, just need to bat as much as possible.

Has Indian batting lost the ability to bat on rank turners ? Every batsman seems unsure of the way the ball will turn. But good thing for India is that the English bowlers are mixing in some really bad balls as well that are fetching some runs every now and then.

Will be great if India can score around 150 to end with a total lead of around 350.

[KPR]

Well the lead is 337 now. Rahane for sure will be under tremendous pressure to perform as batsman.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by KPR

Well the lead is 337 now. Rahane for sure will be under tremendous pressure to perform as batsman.

Have been saying for sometime now, he is a good batsman however over rated. With KL Rahul, M Agrawal and S Iyer in form, we should give them opportunities to showcase their talent. Rahane has backing of Kohli and thus of the management.

[KPR]

Well I used to admire all rounders like Kallis, Watson and now Ben Stokes for their exploits with both bat and ball. Now I should be proud that we have a player like Ashwin for his all round ability. Ashwin deserve this century in his home soil.

[dailydriver]

Ashwin anna has done the incredible - a five for and a hundred in the same match.

Tests are making a comeback, and how!

Apart from watching Ashwin celebrate his hundred, what struck me was the absolute happiness on Siraj's face and in his action while running. Truly endearing.

[pandey.jai]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Apart from watching Ashwin celebrate his hundred, what struck me was the absolute happiness on Siraj's face and in his action while running. Truly endearing.

Absolutely. That was a wholesome moment. Siraj looks like a top bloke.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Ashwin anna has done the incredible - a five for and a hundred in the same match.

And that too at a Strike Rate of 71.

The local hero wanted to prove it is a typical local wicket, which to the rest of the world appears "doctored".