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India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey wants Rohit Sharma's brigade to focus on taking early wickets on Day 4 to curtail England's score, instead of bothering about the target for the fourth innings of the first Test in Hyderabad. Despite trailing by 190 runs in the first innings, England bounced back to gain a lead of 126 runs in their second innings, reaching 316 for six, thanks to Ollie Pope's century.
"We are not looking at any particular target (to chase) as I said the objective is to come tomorrow morning and get early wickets and limit their total. We are not putting any pressure on ourselves by setting any target. We just want to bowl in the right areas to extract turn and bounce from the wicket," Mhambrey said in his post-match press conference.
Mhambrey's optimism stemmed from his observation that the pitch's turn is manageable and not particularly sharp, making it easier to counter.
"If you look at the way the game has progressed over the last few days from the first session, the amount of turn the ball has taken, I think it got better in the second innings. I think it is going to get a bit better on the slower side (tomorrow). There will be some turn but it is not the usual turn you see in the Indian sub-continental wickets, the sharp turn when the game progresses. There is a little turn but not as challenging," Mhambrey added.
Mhambrey all praise for Pope
Mhambrey mentioned that the Indian bowlers had anticipated the 'Bazball' approach of the England batters and were ready to confront this strategy even before the series started.
"We knew prior to the series the way England played over the last couple of years and the kind of approach they had to Test cricket. We were expecting them to come here with that aggression and play those kinds of shots. But credit goes to them for playing those shots and some of the shots Pope played were very brave, and playing those shots consistently can put the opposition under pressure," he elaborated.
The 51-year-old also admitted that England's batters, especially Pope, showed courage in taking on the Indian bowlers at crucial moments.
“It does happen as the batsmen start to access different areas. It is going to be a challenge. Pope accessed the square leg area and the reverse sweep as well. They took on the attack when it was really needed,” Mhambrey concluded.
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