James Anderson, the experienced English bowler, exuded confidence in his team's ability to succeed.
Veteran English pacer James Anderson observed that India adopted a cautious approach while batting in their second innings on Day 3 of the ongoing second Test at Vizag.
According to Anderson, the Indian team seemed uncertain about the target they should set in the fourth innings, taking into account England's aggressive batting style.
Thanks to Shubman Gill's determined century (104), India managed to set a challenging target of 399 for the visitors. The target could have been even higher, as the home side reached 227/6 at Tea, holding a commanding lead of 370 runs.
However, India's lower-order batsmen collapsed, and they were eventually bowled out for 255 in the final session of the third day's play.
"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," said Anderson after the close of play.
In pursuit of their target, England swiftly reached a score of 67/1 in 14 overs by the end of the day's play. Zak Crawley, with an unbeaten 29 runs, and nightwatchman Rehan Ahmed, with 9 runs to his name, held their ground in the middle. However, the team still requires an additional 332 runs to achieve a remarkable victory in the challenging Asian conditions.
James Anderson, the experienced English bowler, exuded confidence in his team's ability to succeed. He attributed this optimism to the mindset fostered by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, who have instilled a winning mentality within the players.
It is worth mentioning that England has previously displayed their prowess in chasing formidable targets. In the rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston in 2022, they comfortably achieved a remarkable victory by successfully pursuing a challenging total of 378 runs, thereby leveling the home series.
"The chat last night from the coach (Brendon McCullum) was that if they get 600, we were going to go for it. It makes it very clear to everyone that we will try to do it tomorrow.
"I know there are 180 overs left in the game, but we will try to do it in 60 or 70. That's the way we play, and we saw that tonight with Rehan (Ahmed) going out and playing his shots.
"He wanted to get out there and chase those runs down, even tonight. We have set our stall out, tomorrow will be no different, we will play the same way we have (played) the last two years.
"Whether we win or lose, it's not relevant because we are extremely competitive and want to win every game we play, but we want to play in a certain way," the 41-year-old said.
In the Bazball era, England has accomplished what was once thought to be impossible. Yet, if they can successfully pursue and surpass the target in Visakhapatnam, it will undoubtedly be hailed as their most remarkable achievement thus far.
READ| IND vs ENG: Shubman Gill was given ultimatum to perform in Vizag Test, batter was....
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 "'If IND get 600....': James Anderson reveals McCullum's words; confident in England's pursuit of 399 in 2nd Test")
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