"England will not be able to score the 482 runs even if given an extra innings" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar has said England will not be able to overhaul the 482-run target even if given an additional inning in the second Test against India.
Team India were bowled out for 286 runs in their second innings of the ongoing Chennai Test. Chasing a massive 482-run target, the visitors ended Day 3 at a score of 53/3 and need another 429 runs for an unlikely victory.
During a discussion on Aaj Tak, Sunil Gavaskar was asked if England have any chance of turning things around.
The former Indian skipper dismissed any such suggestions. He reasoned Joe Root is the only England batsman proficient in standing up to the Indian spinners.
"England will not be able to score the 482 runs even if given an extra innings because they do not have the ability to play spin. There is only one player who has that ability, Joe Root. He is still unbeaten but I don't think he will bat so well that England will reach the 482-run target," said Gavaskar.
Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that the visiting team almost gave up on this match when they saw the pitch favouring the spinners on the first day.
"England had lost in the mind beforehand itself. When they saw on the first day that the ball was turning a little, they started getting doubts in their minds how they would play on this pitch," added Gavaskar.
It is difficult but not impossible to bat on this pitch: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar highlighted that Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli in India's second innings, and Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant in the first essay, have shown that runs can be scored on the Chennai pitch.
"Ashwin and Virat Kohli showed today and even on the first day when the ball was turning, the way Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane batted and after that Rishabh Pant hit those sixes, that it is definitely difficult to bat on this pitch but it is not impossible," said Gavaskar
The cricketer-turned-commentator signed off by asking all questions about the quality of the pitch to be put to rest.
"If you use your feet well and have a good technique, you can score runs on this pitch and stay on the wicket as well. And it is better we forget all the discussions that are happening," concluded Sunil Gavaskar.
There has been a lot of hue and cry about the pitch at Chepauk for the second Test. However, with India posting more than 600 runs across their two innings, they have shown the surface is not as bad as it has been made out to be.