Overton feels first hour on Day 4 will be 'massive'

'It obviously was frustrating for us, but we got to make sure that we get early breakthroughs.'

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Pacer Craig Overton says England still hold all the aces, but the first hour's play on Saturday, Day 4, is going to be "massive" as they look to break India's resistance in the third Test, at Headingley, Leeds.

India were 215 for 2 in their second innings at stumps on the third day, 139 runs in arrears after conceding a first-innings lead of 354 runs.

"Ideally, we would have got three or four; you only need a couple more for the bowlers. We are still in a good position in the game at the moment," he asserted.

"It obviously was frustrating for us, but we got to make sure that we get early breakthroughs. The first hour's play would be massive."

Overton said England’s bowlers tried to stick to the basics against India skipper Virat Kohli, who seemed to be getting back to form with a series-best score of 45 not out.

Enduring a lean patch, Kohli showed a lot of patience and judged the line beautifully. Along with Cheteshwar Pujara, he put up a great fightback with an unbeaten 99-run stand to frustrate the English bowlers.

"He (Kohli) is one of the characters who likes to get going. As a side, we were just trying to make sure that we do our business as well as we can, not ignore him, but making sure that we stick to our basics of what we do well as a side," Overton said, of their strategy against Kohli.

Pujara was unbeaten on 91 -- his first fifty of the series -- as India recovered after being skittled out for 78 in their first innings.

Asked about the pitch that has eased out considerably, he replied, "We know it's going to be tricky. Credit to them (Indians) they played really well. You always like to get a few more. I think we bowled better than what the two wickets suggest, but they also played well; that's what they're entitled to do."

Earlier, Rohit Sharma scored a fine 59 in an 82-run second-wicket partnership with Pujara as the English bowlers toiled.

• India’s tour of England 2021