Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels that India are still in the fight despite being 137 runs behind on Day 4 of Manchester Test. This comes after KL Rahul and Shubman Gill formed a huge partnership of 174, leaving the England bowlers stunned. Notably, India had lost both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks which had left them on 0/2 at one stage. However, the highly important stand must have provided the visitors with a lot of confidence heading into the fifth day.
Hussain feels that England bowlers will have to work hard on Day 5
Hussain showered praise on the duo of Rahul and Gill for keeping India into the game and also warned England bowlers that it will be very hard for the England bowlers to dismiss them as they are completely set on the crease.
“Still plenty of time, and you have to work hard for Test match victories. And you’re playing against India. India are still in this series. They’re not gonna roll over. When England went out there, they would’ve absolutely expected India. Indian batters when they walked off last night, their bowlers were dead on their feet. I didn’t think that Indian bowling attack could come back with much venom today," Hussain said on Sky Sports.
“But one thing I know about India batters, for as long as I’ve known the game of cricket, they love batting. They’re not gonna give you their wicket, you gonna have to work very hard. England are gonna have to work very hard for every one of these next 8 wickets because India are still in this series,” he added.
Notably, both Gill and Rahul are the top-scorers for India in the series so far and have already scored multiple centuries as well. They will be hoping to increase their tally as they take the field on the scores of 78 and 87 respectively on the fiffth and final day of the match.
It remains to be seen which approach the England bowlers will be using to break the partnership between Rahul and Gill. On the other hand, the Men in Blue will be hoping that the duo continue to bat for atleast the entirety of the first session on Day 5 so that it becomes incredibly difficult for the hosts to get to victory which would see them seal the series even before playing the fifth match.