England wrapped up the fourth day of the Headingley Test against India on 21/0 with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett unbeaten on 12 and 9 respectively. They require 350 runs more on the final day of the Test match to emerge victorious and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Ahead of the fifth day, England pacer Josh Tongue sent a major warning to the Men in Blue and clearly stated that they will be going for the win rather than settling for a draw. The hosts have a good chance to reach the target of 371 on Tuesday through their 'Bazball' style of batting. Tongue feels that through their 'positive' brand of cricket, the Three Lions will be able to seal the victory.
Tongue feels that England will achieve the target
“No. [We will] just go for the win. That's the clear message in the changing room. It's just [about] being as positive as we can. They're going to bowl well at times tomorrow: it's just crucial we soak up that bit of pressure and reapply it. I don't see why we can't chase that down," Tongue said after the end of Day 4.
“We are very confident. Looking at our batting lineup, it's very strong. We'll play a positive brand of cricket. Chasing 371 is going to be a good thing for us to do tomorrow. Obviously, getting through the first 30-40 minutes will be crucial but hopefully, we'll get the winning runs tomorrow," he added.
Meanwhile, coming to the match, India looked to be in a very commanding position at one stage and had taken a lead of almost 300 runs on the loss of just four wickets thanks to centuries from both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. However, the visitors once again ended up suffering a batting collapse and lost their last six wickets for just 31 runs.
For England, both Tongue and Brydon Carse bagged three scalps each and Shoaib Bashir picked up two. Both Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes also picked up a wicket each as the hosts came roaring back into the match. In the six overs that their openers batted, they played sensibly and didn't go for big shots in order to not lose early wickets. It will certainly be interesting to see who comes out on top on the final day at Headingley.