India will hit back

It was another dismal day for India as six England wickets cost them 293 runs on Day Three of the third Test against England at the Eden Gardens yesterday.

MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Ishant Sharma return to the pavilion on Day Three of the third Test against England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday. Pic/Ajay Roy.

Resuming at 216 for one, England skipper Alastair Cook (190) and Jonathan Trott (87) laid a stronger foundation to finish Day Three onu00a0509-6 - a lead of 193 runs. The duo shared a 173-run second wicket stand.

Pragyan Ojha

On a pitch where Monty Panesar did superbly, the India spinners failed to trouble the rampaging Englishmen.u00a0But left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who claimed three wickets in his 50 overs, still felt India can stage a comeback in the Test. "Tomorrow's first session will be very important. If we get one or two wickets early, we can pack them up quickly. We have good record on this track and there's no reason why we cannot turn it around from here. The way the wicket is behaving, we are confident (of putting up a good show)," Ojha said at the end of day's play.

Ojha may have spoken about a turnaround, but it looks a distant dream to save the match, leave aside winning it and taking a 2-1 lead.u00a0On why Panesar could exploit the strip to his favour and not the Indian spinners, the Hyderabad left-arm spinner explained: "He (Panesar) has done quite well. In the first game he got 11 and in this game he has four. Ashwin and I are also trying hard.

"The English spinners bowl at a pace of 100kmph and we bowl at around 80kmph. It's almost impossible for us to match their pace in a crucial match
like this."