England will be very happy with a drawn series in India: Zak Crawley 

England batsman Zak Crawley believes there’s a way back for England in the series against India. The right-hander, who top-scored for England in their disappointing defeat in the pink-ball Test at Ahmedabad, stated that his team needs to bat well and build a sizeable first-innings lead in the final match of the series.

After winning the first Test in Chennai, England suffered consecutive defeats on turning surfaces to go down 1-2 in the series. The defeat in the day-night Test also ended their hopes of qualifying for the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s in June.

India will have to win or draw the final Test to ensure their qualification for the WTC final. But England won't make that easy, as they have their sights set on saving the series. Speaking with reporters ahead of the final Test at Ahmedabad, Zak Crawley asserted that ending the series 2-2 would be an 'unbelievable' result for the visitors.

“Yes, there’s definitely a way back. We already won one Test match. It is going to require a good first-innings lead from us and we need to bat well. The bowlers did well to bowl them out for 145 (in Ahmedabad). If we can replicate that and get a nice lead in the first innings, we will put them under pressure," said Crawley.

“It will be unbelievable if we end up winning 4 out of the 6 Tests (in India and Sri Lanka). We will be very happy with a drawn series in India," Crawley added.

England’s formidable overseas numbers in recent times

In recent times, the England team have had a fantastic record in overseas encounters. They won three consecutive Tests in South Africa in the 2019-20 season and also whitewashed Sri Lanka 2-0. Their win in the first Test against India in Chennai was their sixth overseas Test win in a row.

It took two big turners for India to stage a comeback and go one up in the series against England. If the visitors manage to win the final Test, they will be the first team in over eight years to prevent India from winning a series at home.