3 things India could've done differently on Day 3 of the 2nd Test against England

The second Test between India and England is delicately poised heading into the fourth day in Visakhapatnam.

The visitors need 332 more runs to win the Test with nine wickets to spare, and it's safe to say that India are in the driver's seat as of now. But under Ben Stokes, England have pulled off some heists in the fourth innings, so an upset cannot be completely ruled out.

That wouldn't have been the case if Rohit Sharma and Co. had been smarter and more switched on during Day 3. They made plenty of individual and collective errors as they failed to put the Test beyond the opposition's reach.

Here are three things India could have done differently on Day 3 of the second Test against England.

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#3 India's lower-order batting approach was bizarre

Ravichandran Ashwin blocked almost everything that came his way.

When KS Bharat was dismissed in the 65th over of the second innings, India had only three lower-order wickets to spare. After that, while they managed 27 valuable runs, their approach was haphazard and confusing.

Kuldeep Yadav was dismissed playing a slog-sweep, indicating that the side wanted some quick runs from their lower order. Following that dismissal, though, Ravichandran Ashwin engaged in a blockathon with Jasprit Bumrah for company.

Ashwin eventually picked off a few boundaries but didn't show any intent during his partnership with Bumrah. Perhaps the veteran all-rounder wanted to bat time and cause the pitch to deteriorate further, but if that was the case, Kuldeep should've exercised more caution and given Ashwin company.

The end result was a 26-run partnership between Ashwin and Bumrah that lasted almost 12 confusing overs. India should've picked one strategy for their lower-order batters and stuck to it - ideally, they should've looked to play their shots throughout.

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#2 Several Indian players got out to poor shots

KS Bharat had plenty of support in Vizag, but not many runs

Speaking of playing shots, though, India's frontline batters didn't cover themselves in glory on Day 3. Several of them played loose shots to be dismissed, meaning that the home side weren't able to put the game beyond England's reach.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was tempted into a drive by Jimmy Anderson, even though the opener had exercised admirable restraint for the most part of his first-innings double century. Jaiswal's departure meant that Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill needed to steady the innings.

However, Shreyas lost patience after playing close to 50 balls, dancing down to Tom Hartley and skwing an edge. Rajat Patidar fell soon after, and India's lower-middle order needed to be at its absolute best.

While Gill and Axar Patel kept the innings afloat, KS Bharat undid all the good work by hitting a rank long hop to a fielder for the second time in the Test. Kuldeep's slog-sweep was a curious choice of shot, too.

On a pitch that didn't have much in it for the bowlers, the hosts managed only 255.

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#1 Rohit Sharma got most things wrong in the 14 overs his team bowled

Mukesh Kumar seen in action: India v England - 2nd Test Match: Day Two

India had close to an hour to have a crack at the English batters in the final session of Day 3. Unfortunately, captain Rohit Sharma got nearly everything wrong during that phase.

Rohit opened the bowling with the ineffective and expensive Mukesh Kumar, who leaked two fours in his opening over to completely undo Jasprit Bumrah's good work at the other end. The Indian captain strangely decided to give the 30-year-old another over, and the result was the same.

Axar Patel bowled just one over, the last one of the day. Ravichandran Ashwin, who should've been brought on much earlier to Ben Duckett, got only two overs. Needless to say, the veteran off-spinner dismissed Duckett, but not before the opener had scored six boundaries in his 28.

Rohit's field placements, which have been abysmal during the Test, were once again puzzling. He didn't have a leg-slip and other close-in catchers even when India's primary aim was to pick up wickets in the final phase of play on Day 3.