- By Himanshu Badola
- Sun, 09 Jul 2023 10:27 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
JE Sports Desk: The third Ashes Test between England and Australia at Headingley has headed towards a thrilling finish after a rain-marred day on the third day of the Test match.
England will come out chasing the target on day 4 with already few runs on the board with both the openers Ben Duckett (18*) and Zak Crawley (9*) looking good at the crease.
However, India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who is following the series excitingly, has a word of advice for the Ben Stokes' side to ‘bat sensibly’ without giving up their positive approach.
The first hour at Headingley is going to be critical tomorrow.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 8, 2023
I feel the wicket is playing absolutely fine and if England bat sensibly and are positive in their approach they will get there. They require discipline in their shot selection with a positive approach and the total…
“The first hour at Headingley is going to be critical tomorrow,’ Tendulkar wrote on Twitter.
He continued, “I feel the wicket is playing absolutely fine and if England bat sensibly and are positive in their approach they will get there. They require discipline in their shot selection with a positive approach and the total will be chased."
The visitors resumed their second innings on 116/4 and started losing wickets at regular intervals before Travis Head counter-attacked to smash a half-century. A few little contributions from tail-enders helped Australia reach 224, setting England a target of 251 runs to win.
The hosts already have 27 runs on the board and haven't lost any wickets as they look favorites with two days still remaining in the Test. However, only a horrible collapse early on Day 4 can put them in a bothering situation from here on.
Skipper Ben Stokes, with already 2-0 down in the five-match series. opted to bowl first after winning the toss as bowlers put up an improved performance despite Mitchell Marsh's remarkable century to restrict the Aussies to 263.
England once again suffered batting woes as they looked struggling at 87/5 before the captain played a stunning knock of 80 runs to bail his team out of trouble.
His attacking innings helped the hosts close in on the deficit as it remained just 26 runs before England were bowled for 237 runs.