For nearly two full days, India were on the field, running behind the ball or dropping it as it came towards them. Now, with the pitch expected to undergo some changes, the India batsman need to show their quality if they are to prevent England from winning the first Test in Rajkot.
Having amassed 537 in the first innings, thanks to centuries from Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes, England can afford to go for the jugular from the off on day three.
Get the Day 3 score of first Test HERE
Alastair Cook can set attacking fields, because, initially at least, he won't be too concerned about conceding runs. Such is the advantage of scoring big in the first innings that, it will also give the bowlers, particularly the England spinners, the opportunity to bowl attacking lines.
Watch how Pujara survived thanks to DRS HERE
A boundary here or there won't concern them too much as long as they keep chipping away at the India batting lineup.
In the first two days, the pitch showed very little signs of deteriorating – the grass is still very much there and while the cracks – and there are a number of them – will open up eventually, day three should be decent for batting.
If it ends up being that, India need to make sure they don't whittle down under the scoreboard pressure. Bat the entire Day 3 and they should be in a decent position to save this Test match. That is all they can do, because a win was taken out of the equation, the moment they dropped those catches and allowed three different England batsmen to go past three figures.
Murali Vijay and Gautam Gambhir have made a decent start, and neither looked too troubled at the crease in the 23 overs that they played before the close of play on Thursday.
However, with the ball set to reverse, the pacers will come into play, while England's spinners are bound to get some purchase as the match wears on. Gambhir might be a great player of spin, but the real test for the left-hander will be his concentration and skill levels – can he, at the age of 35, keep his mind clear and make sure he plays each ball on merit?
Vijay has shown he can do that in the recent past, if Gambhir can as well, we will know soon.
There will be plenty of pressure on Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane as well – the other three pure batsmen in this team – to show why they are so highly rated and they are capable of batting well with their backs to the wall.
Where to Watch Live
Day 3 of the first Ind vs Eng Test is set to begin at 9.30am IST (4am GMT, 11am ET). Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports HD3. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport 2. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports 2. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket. Live Streaming: OSN Cricket Live.
US and Canada: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
