IND vs ENG LIVE – Lord’s Test Day 5: Moeen Ali reckons ‘220-230’ will be a tough ask on a slow Lord’s pitch – England have their noses in front and are closing in on a win at Lord’s with India holding a 154-run lead with only four wickets in hand at Stumps on Day 4. While Mark Wood was the pick of the bowlers as he got the better of India’s top three, Moeen Ali spun a web around the Indian batsmen getting top scorer Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja. Now Moeen Ali believes England will have to restrict the target to lesser than 220 to have a chance of a win on 5th Day – Follow India vs England Lord’s Test Day 5 Live Updates on InsideSport.co
IND vs ENG LIVE Day 5: Moeen Ali admits, ‘anything above 220-230 will be tough to chase at Lord’s’, check why?
Speaking after the end of the day’s play on Sunday, Moeen Ali insisted that chasing a steep score will be difficult considering the slow pitch at Lord’s. Ali said that while a chase of 220-230 wouldn’t be impossible, but it won’t be easy. He added, “We’ll have to play well. It’s a fantastic game. But I feel anything above 220-230 would be tough to chase”
Patience. Determination. Desire.
All to play for heading into Day 5
Scorecard & Clips: https://t.co/Wh41RMBJxQ
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 15, 2021
For India, the onus will be on Rishabh Pant to guide the team to a safe total when they resume proceedings at Lord’s on Monday. With just the tail left for company, the young wicket-keeper will have to hold his horses and play judiciously to clinch India closer to the 200-run lead mark.
While he did not contribute much with the bat, Ali picked up the crucial wickets of Jadeja and Rahane to put the match firmly in England’s balance. The 34-year-old had earned a recall to the side for the Lord’s Test match, playing in his first Test since the 2019 Ashes. While his future in the format has been a huge debate, Ali insisted that he is focused on enjoying the challenge.
He said, “I’ve really enjoyed it so far. That was my aim. It wasn’t the runs or the wickets so much, although they help; it was more about enjoying the challenge as much as I could. I’m happy with everything and not taking it too seriously anymore. That’s something that I probably moved away from going back a couple of years.”
