Team India is in a dominant position in the second Test against England and need just seven wickets to win the match after their sensational show both with the bat and ball on Day 4. In a display of formidable bowling, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj left England in a precarious position of 72/3 on the fourth day of the second Test which has placed India in a strong position to level the series, needing to claim the remaining seven wickets within the final day's 90 overs.
Morne Morkel on timing of India's declaration on Day 4 of 2nd Test
However, the looming threat of rain on day five could potentially disrupt India's charge and offer England a chance to salvage a draw. Addressing questions about the timing of India's declaration, bowling coach Morne Morkel confirmed that the decision was a subject of considerable discussion. He elaborated that while the weather is an uncontrollable factor, the team's strategy was to first establish a commanding position. Morkel affirmed that their plan to dismiss a few English batsmen before stumps was executed flawlessly. He also talked about the timing of India's declaration and said that it was taken after having a due conversation.
"We did speak about it [timing of declaration] a lot during the day. It's still a good wicket, even our boys were batting quite comfortably there towards the back end. They were batting at 4-5 runs an over. You can't control the weather. It was about getting ourselves into a comfortable position and having 20-25 overs at them tonight to take a few wickets. We got that, which is a bonus for us," Morkel said at the press conference after Day 4's play.
On the morning of the fourth day of the second Test, England found themselves trailing by 244 runs as Indian batsmen KL Rahul and Karun Nair came to the crease. Although both Rahul and Nair were dismissed during the first session, India successfully extended their lead to a formidable 357 runs by the lunch break.
By the end of the day's play in Birmingham, England's batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, acknowledged the challenging situation his team faced. With a staggering 536 runs required for an unlikely victory on the final day and only seven wickets remaining, Trescothick conceded that securing a draw was now a primary consideration for England.
“We’re always trying to be as positive as we can, but we all appreciate it’s a hell of a lot of runs to try and score. We need 536 tomorrow…I don’t think we’ve seen scoring rates like that. I don’t think we use that sort of (defensive) language, that’s not the sort of changing room we are. But we are not naive," Trescothick said at the press conference.
“If you get to the point where you can draw the game, of course, we’re not stupid enough to think that you have to just win or lose. There are three results possible in every game that you play. This has kind of been built up away from what the changing room messages are. I think there is a perception of what you think goes on in the changing room, but we obviously understand it a little bit more,” he concluded.