India opener Rohit Sharma has stated that India aren’t far from the hosts, England in the third Test as their first goal is to cross the 139-run at Leeds. He also shared that their plans would depend on several factors, which also included the number of remaining overs as well.

After the poor show on the first two days, India brilliantly returned on Day Three of the Test, posting 215 for two, with Rohit Sharma (59), Cheteshwar Pujara (91*) and Virat Kohli (45*) adding crucial runs. However, they are still trial by 139 runs at the end of the third day’s play.

While speaking on the batting plans for the third day, Rohit Sharma said: “We are still 139-odd behind; so first we need to erase the deficit, and then the lead comes into the equation. We have to plan to cover it first. Then we will have to analyse the game’s situation like how many overs are remaining, etc., and then we will plan further.”

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After having gone through a rough patch, Pujara has finally scored, including the captain, Virat Kohli. They added an unbeaten 99-run stand for the third wicket as well. Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Pujara also added 82 runs for the second wicket before the former got out by Ollie Robinson.

He again shared: “We batted poorly in the first innings. They (England) bowled some pretty good balls, but it wasn’t certainly a 78 pitch. We accept that we batted poorly, and corrected our mistakes in the second innings, which is why we are in this position now. We made some silly mistakes batting first, but it’s all about correcting them.”

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“We batted well in the three sessions today, and tomorrow will be very crucial for us. Hopefully, the two in the middle (Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara) and the other batters can bat as long as possible,” concluded Rohit Sharma.