Michael Vaughan sees home team out of race in Edgbaston Test

Former England captain and senior batter Michael Vaughan has opined that the Three Lions are way behind in the rescheduled Test match against India. To note, the visitors have now gained a 250+ runs lead in the second innings and have lost only three wickets.

Senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant are currently on the crease for the Indian team and are batting well. While Pujara has already stroked an excellent fifty, Pant has also scored 30 runs and they both will be looking to take India’s lead past the 400-run mark.

“A 257-run lead is a long way now for England to go and chase. India gets another 150 and it’s 400, which I think it will be, there is an odd bounce, the spin will come into play and that might be when Shami gets his reward,” Vaughan said in a conversation with Cricbuzz.

Give me a Cheteshwar Pujara in my Test team any day of the week: Michael Vaughan

“Scoring 50 off 140-odd deliveries in conditions that are not easy is absolutely what we need. You need to have a player with a little bit of stability about the way they are playing. That allows Pant and Iyer to come out and play expansively. Give me a Pujara in my Test team any day of the week. As much as you are scared of Pant, Pujara is the kind of glue that every single team needs to frustrate and wear down the bowlers,” he added.

Talking about England’s first innings with the bat, several English batters got starts with the bat. However, none of them apart from Jonny Bairstow went on to capitalize on that. The right-handed batter was brutal during his innings as he smashed an excellent hundred and took his team to a respectable total.

The Three Lions will need to take early wickets on Day 4 if they want to make a comeback in the match. Meanwhile, India needs to play for a draw or win the match to clinch a famous series victory.