One could argue that there is no safe total aainst England’s Bazball approach. And veteran England pacer James Anderson believes India did not know either on Day 3 of IND vs ENG 2nd Test. That’s why, India were cautious in their approach, especially with Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah playing a bizarre passage of play in the 3rd session. India did end up setting a 399-run target with England needing 332 more runs on Day 4. But ahead of what will be the day of result, James Anderson has begun playing mind games, saying India did not know how many runs were enough.
“I think the nerves were there to see today, the way they batted, they didn’t know how many was enough. They were quite cautious, even when they had a big lead,” James Anderson said after end of IND vs ENG 2nd Test Day 3.
Ashwin’s Bizarre tactics
James Anderson wasn’t wrong in his assessment. In the third session on Day 3, India could only score 28 runs in 14.3 overs despite scoring 227/6 in the previous two sessions at 3.54 runs an over.
However, as India lose KS Bharat (6 off 28) and Kuldeep Yadav (0 off 5), Ashwin took an ultra-defensive approach as if he was there to save the Test. Former India coach called that a bizarre tactics while former England captain Kevin Pietersen too was baffled.
Ashwin and Bumrah added just 26 runs for 9th wicket off 71 balls. Bumrah scored a 26-ball duck after batting for 44 minutes.
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Instead of prolonging the inevitable, India’s tail-enders could hit quick runs to take the lead to beyond 425. But the hosts ended up with just 398 runs, setting a target of 399 runs to get in 180 overs. James Anderson believes it’s Bazball that has created a confusion in opponents’ mind. And something similar happened with India, especially Ashwin.
“I don’t know if intimidating is the right word, but it’s putting different thoughts in opposition’s minds and captain’s minds. It definitely felt like that today – it felt like they were unsure what a good score would be against us,” James Anderson said.
However, England may need all the mindgames as they will need another 332 runs on a Day 4 pitch. The Vizag pitch in IND vs ENG 2nd Test has already shown cracks. And Ashwin will be gunning for his 500 Test wickets on that pitch.
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