3 things India need to do right to extend dominance on Day 4 of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test ft. Rishabh Pant

Team India made a strong comeback on Day 3 of the second Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday, July 4, to reclaim the upper hand in the contest. England resumed their first innings on Day 3 at 77-3 and lost Joe Root (22) and skipper Ben Stokes (0) early to slip to 84-5.

The hosts launched a superb counter-attack as Harry Brook (158) and Jamie Smith (184*) added a mammoth 303 runs for the sixth wicket. At 387-5, it seemed like England would get close to India's first innings total. However, pacers Mohammed Siraj (6-70) and Akash Deep (4-88) shone with the second new ball. England lost their last five wickets for 20 runs to be bowled out for 407.

Thanks to their fightback, India gained a massive first innings lead of 180 runs. The visitors stretched their lead to 244 runs by stumps on Day 3, reaching 64-1 in 13 overs. Ahead of Day 4 of the Birmingham Test, we look at three things India need to do to extend their dominance in the contest.

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#1 India need to consolidate in the first session

India, undoubtedly, hold all the aces going into Day 4 of the Edgbaston Test. However, one cannot write off this current England team. They have pulled off some amazing wins from incredibly difficult positions in the past. As such, India cannot afford to relax at all, especially in the first session of play on Day 4.

The visitors must ensure that they consolidate the innings in the first session and not lose more than a couple of wickets. They should ideally look to go to lunch with a lead of around 300, with majority of their wickets still in hand. If they are successful in achieving the target, they can dictate terms for the rest of the day.

On the contrary, if India lose early wickets on Day 4 in Birmingham, England's bowlers can put them under pressure. This could lead to another batting collapse. Even if India get a lead of 400, England will be confident of chasing it down, given that they have gunned down 370-plus against India twice in the last three years. In fact, at this very venue, they chased down a record 378 in July 2022.

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#2 Rishabh Pant needs to play a blinder

After ensuring that they do not lose more than two wickets in the opening session on Day 4, India's next objective should to be press the accelerator in the second session. The visitors must give a free hand to Rishabh Pant to take on the England bowlers and hope that he can play a blinder.

If Pant gets going, he would not only score at a fast clip, but also put England's bowlers under pressure. If the dynamic keeper-batter spends a decent amount of time at the crease, it will also allow the batter at the other end to breathe easy as he can thus focus on rotating the strike.

In the event of Pant perishing cheaply, the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar would be expected to up the ante. At stumps on Day 3, KL Rahul and Karun Nair were holding fort for Team India. Either of them can play the anchor role from one end. India also have in-form skipper Shubman Gill, who has the ability to adapt his game as per the situation.

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#3 India must look to declare with a lead of 500

England batter Brook made it clear after stumps on Day 3 in Birmingham that the hosts would go for whatever target India post and not play for a draw. The fact that England scored at a rate of 4.54 in their first innings means that there is still plenty of time left in the Test for the Stokes and co. to gun down another big total.

For India to feel that they are absolutely safe in the game, they need to get a lead of 500 before declaring (unless they are bowled out). The visitors must ideally look to declare just before close of play and give England's openers a few nervy overs before stumps. If India can do that and pick up a couple of wickets before stumps, they would head into Day 5 with a great chance of leveling the five-match series.