3 strategies India must deploy to dominate Day 3 of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test ft. Attacking England's mentality with astute defensive strategies

Team India has one foot in the door in their pursuit of levelling the five-match series against England after Day 2 of the second Test in Edgbaston. After dominating much of the first Test, the visitors allowed a golden opportunity to slip away with England chasing down 371 on the final day at Leeds.

However, they have already righted one of the wrongs from the series opener by posting a massive 587 in the first innings of the second Test. Furthermore, a buoyed Indian attack picked up three early wickets to reduce England to 77/3 at stumps on the second day.

Yet, India will remember how their last two Tests in England have finished, with the hosts chasing 370+ in the final innings. To avoid a hat-trick of such defeats, Shubman Gill will have to translate his batting heroics to captaincy on the third day of the pivotal Edgbaston Test.

Having batted for the majority of the first two days en route to his magnificent 269, Gill will understand how the surface is behaving more than anyone from either team.

On that note, let us look at three key strategies India must deploy to take control of the second England Test.

#1 India must attack with defensive fields

India may do away with too many slips after an initial burst on Day 3 [Credit: Getty]

Team India must keep reminding themselves that the Ben Stokes-led England unit will settle for nothing less than a result in any Test match. Even as a defeat looks out of the realms of possibility for the visitors, trust England to still play with the belief that a victory is within their grasp.

With that comes India's best opportunity to seize control of the Edgbaston Test, should they use their bowlers and field placements smartly. The venue has become a graveyard for bowlers since the turn of the decade, with an average team score of over 350 across the four innings.

Furthermore, the final innings at Edgbaston over the last five Tests have seen batting averages soar to over 60, meaning an average team score of over 600. Hence, India must ensure they don't let England get away with a free flow of runs on the third day, eliminating a potential final innings chase.

In the 34 previous Tests Stokes has captained England, only one has ended in a draw (the Penultimate game of the 2023 Ashes), and that was mainly due to the poor weather.

The pitch showed signs of having uneven bounce at the later stages of Day 2, meaning the Indian bowlers should maintain an attacking line on the stumps. However, they must deploy an in-out or even defensive field to play on the English batters' minds, should the runs not flow as easily as they are accustomed to at home.

Even if the bowlers struggle to pick up wickets regularly, they must keep England's run-scoring in check to almost finish any hopes of a miraculous run-chase on the final day.

#2 Extensive usage of spin

Washington Sundar must make his selection count on Day 3 at Edgbaston [Credit: Getty]

India must remember that they have included two spinners in the lineup for a reason. In Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, the visitors boast two spinners renowned for their relentless lines and lengths.

With a massive lead of over 500 and three England wickets down, Shubman Gill must use the spin-bowling duo in extensive spells. For starters, Edgbaston is one of the few English venues favorable to finger spinners, evidenced by Nathan Lyon and Ashley Giles being among the most successful bowlers at the venue.

India must also remember that England will look for quick runs to allow themselves to pull off a victory in the final innings. Using the two consistent spinners with close-in and deep fielders could be the ideal way to stem the run-scoring and buy a few wickets through false shots from the England batters.

Bowling plenty of spin could also help the visitors have more overs at the England batters in a game where they are almost certain to avoid defeat, and one where time could ultimately become a factor.

#3 Go all-in on breaking the Root-Brook stand

The visitors must guard against a repeat of the Multan heroics between the pair [Credit: Getty]

India's first objective on Day 3 must be to break the slowly blossoming stand between Joe Root and Harry Brook. The duo joined hands with England reeling at 25/3 at the end of Day 2 and added a brisk 52 runs in under 13 overs.

The Root and Brook partnership has been the best in Test cricket over the last three years. The duo has scored the second most runs as a pair with 1,831 runs in 26 innings at an incredible average of 73.24 - the best among those with at least 1,000 runs.

Root and Brook are the world's best and second-best batters in Tests as per the latest ICC rankings. It has been less than a year since they added 454 for the fourth wicket against Pakistan in Multan - the fourth highest of all-time in Tests.

Considering their thirst for big runs and the ability to feed off one another, Shubman Gill's men must go all-in on separating the pair first thing on the third morning.