The 1st Test between India and England has come to an interesting point where all 3 results are possible. India needs 10 wickets to win the game while the hosts need 350 runs to win the 1st Test at Leeds.
Batting first, India had posted a humongous total of 471 runs. It was Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, who took centre stage in this game as they notched up centuries.
Pant continued his glorious run-of-form as he notched up another century in the 2nd innings. He has made a huge statement and he would be hoping that India wins the game.
England eventually scored 465 runs in the 1st innings and bowled India out for 364 runs in the 2nd innings. Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue bagged 3 wickets each in this innings while Shoaib Bashir bagged 2 wickets.
In the 2nd innings, England are batting overnight on 21 runs. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have gotten England off to a decent start and they need to take up ownership in the 2nd innings, if the hosts are to win this game.
How can India defend the total at Leeds?
For India, the entire focus will be on their star bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. The enigmatic pacer bagged a fifer in the 1st innings and was wreaking havoc with the white-cherry. Bumrah will have the spotlight on Day 5 and he would be expecting some help from the other bowlers in the form of Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Siraj.
We also predict that there might be some turn on offer on Day 5 and that’s where Ravindra Jadeja will come into the picture.
India would be initially looking to break the opening partnership between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett and then would be looking to take wickets in the 1st session itself. This is essentially to push England to the back seat.
