India bowling coach Morne Morkel said he is looking forward to seeing how England go about their business while chasing 536 on the last day of the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. India, riding on their skipper Shubman Gill’s ferocious batting, set England a target of 608 runs and the home side has skittled down to 72 for the loss of three wickets at the close of Saturday’s play.
“Harry Brook said yesterday that they would go for the chase — we are in for an exciting day of cricket. England have got success playing that style of cricket. If they are happy to take it on (so be it),” Morkel said after Stumps on Day 4.
“Brook likes to take the game on and he’s an entertainer .That’s a brand of cricket they want to play. They probably might have a go for a while and then reassess,” added Morkel.
Earlier, the ICC World No. 2 Test batter and England’s middle-order mainstay Harry Brook said England are confident of chasing down any total set by the Indian team on Friday.
“I still think we can win this Test match, to be honest. I believe if we take a couple of early wickets tomorrow and put them under pressure and hopefully they can crumble up there and everybody knows in the world that we are going to try and chase whatever they set us, so we’ll see how they play,” said Brook to the BBC.
India not worried
Morkel also categorically denied when asked if India was worried whether England would chase down the total, since their delayed declaration surprised many. India batted for 83 overs in the second innings and scored over 400 to ensure they eliminated one result from the Test.
“Worried? No, not really. I think if a team scores 500+ on the final day, then they deserve to win. So, I think it was just a little bit more time. Ideally, give an hour, a little bit more than an hour at them tonight, with Day 5 around the corner,” said Morkel.
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But we saw [Saturday] morning that if we get the ball in the right areas, there is a bit of assistance. Your skill really gets tested on a surface like this. The margin for error is smaller. It’s going to be about asking questions on a good length because as the ball gets a little softer, it is harder to strike. But, I’m just happy with the three [wickets so far],” the South African added.
