Daijiworld Media Network

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Birmingham, Aug 12: India will start the third day of the third cricket test match against England on a negative note with no hopes of a comeback, after their disastrous performance in batting, bowling and fielding so far.

On Thursday, Indian bowlers could manage only three English wickets. Already 232 runs ahead of India, England are expected to add another 300 at least which would ensure India's loss by a huge margin. Story will not end there - India will lose the No 1 slot in test rankings to England. With three consecutive defeats, India will surely be on the backfoot, and will take a long time to recover from the shock.

Senior cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has come down heavily on Indian players, "A couple of players think that Indian cricket owes them for bringing victory in the recent World Cup. Honestly, those players should be shown the way out."

India had a poor day on the field on day 2 - Rahul Dravid, India's most reliable fielder,  dropped two catches, including Cook's who continued his batting fiesta and is now all set for his double hundred, batting at 182.

Another former cricket Nawab Pataudi criticised India for being unprofessional and relying on individual players. If India is No 1, then they should not rely on Zaheer Khan" he said.

Gautam Gambhir, speaking to the media said that staying at No 1 position was more difficult than achieving it. "Though England deserve to be the No 1 test side, it is because they have played too much cricket in their homeland. When they play outside England, they will be tested. It is not easy to maintain the No 1 spot," he said.

Whatever may be the case, day 3 will be just a formality for England. Though the match will not finish on day 3, nothing can stop the Indians from sliding down from the top rank in test cricket.

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