Nine wickets should be easy to come by for England at Lord’s
Published:The queues are enormous at the home of cricket as everyone wants a slice of the action on the final day of the first Test between England and India.
Three cracking days of cricket has left England in a position to win this Test, and while India shouldn’t be dismissed with a total of 378 runs needed to win, it would be the highest successful run chase in history should they complete it.
With Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar struggling with injuries, India’s batting, just like their bowling attack, has been depleted and the emphasis will be on batting out the day.
Around 110 overs will be bowled today leaving England with plenty of time to find the nine wickets needed to secure victory, and at 11/10 to do so, it’s worth more than just a patriotic punt.
A huge emphasis will be placed on Rahul Dravid’s innings for India and if he can bat for most of the day – he is 2/1 to score a century – the Test match is likely to end in a draw.
Ishant Sharma proved yesterday that there is plenty to be gained from this wicket and even Harbajan Singh was finding a bit of turn.
Between them, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett should have enough to dispose of an Indian batting attack that has been through the war zone.
Broad was the pick of the England bowlers in the first innings with a haul of four that could well have been six, and the underfire bowler has once again proven his mettle in the face of adversity.
He’s certainly England’s danger man today but he will need the help of his teammates if England are to win this Test match and we’re in for a thrilling final day as the world’s top two Test teams remind us just how great Test cricket is.
