Plane with the message "SACK THE ECB & SAVE TEST CRICKET" flies over Leeds stadium as England and India sweat it out down below
As England bowlers were busy trying to break the partnership between India's Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara during the 25th over of India's second innings, a plane displaying a controversial message against the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) flew over the Leeds Stadium, drawing the attention of those in attendance. The event took place on Day 3 of the Headingley Test being played between England and India.
"SACK THE ECB & SAVE TEST CRICKET," the message read as the plane soared through the Leeds skies. The incident is being seen as a major embarrassment for the ECB, more so, owing to the fact that it took place whilst a high-profile game was in progress. It is still unclear as to why the incident occurred in the first place.
England in command as India look to grind it out at Leeds
Winning the toss and electing to bat first didn't go as well for Virat Kohli and co., as they would have liked. James Anderson, leading England's bowling attack, with Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton as his partners, made easy work of the Indian batting, bowling them out for just 78 runs. In reply, England's batting looked surprisingly solid, keeping in view the Lord's Test from last week, as they ended their first innings with 432 runs on the board, leading India by 354 runs.
India lost KL Rahul early in the second innings before Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara stitched together a useful partnership that eventually ended with the former's fall. India's batsmen will now look to shorten, and possibly overthrow, the humongous deficit of 350+ runs that was in front of them at the start of this innings. With two more days to go after today, England will surely be thinking it's their game to lose from here.