Veteran England bowler James Anderson has revealed coach Brendon McCullum’s stern message to the players ahead of day three, as England is totally committed to the game. To win the second Test in Vizag, Ben Stokes-led side must complete a record chase to win the second test.
On the third day of India’s second Test against England, Shubman Gill’s brilliant century was the highlight of the game, driving India to a commanding lead. Despite Anderson’s brilliant early stint, in which he took two wickets and nearly had Gill, the young Indian batsman persevered close to LBW call and scored his second test century on home soil.
Speaking on TNT Sports after the day’s play, James Anderson stated that Brendon McCullum told them last night to attempt and chase down whatever score posted by India in the 2nd innings and believes the visitors performed well on day three and plans to chase down the total and hailed their spinners for restricting England to a formidable total.
“We feel well in the game. We got sat down by the coach [Brendon McCullum] last night and he said, ‘if India get 600 ahead, we’re going to try and chase it down’. And that’s exactly what we’re going to try and do.”
“We stuck to our task really well today. They put on a partnership at one point but the way the spinners kept going, kept toiling, was brilliant. Now we’re in a great position and we’re going to give it a good crack tomorrow,” James Anderson said.
England’s team fought back their way into the game on either side of the tea break, with India losing four wickets for 28 runs. England’s spinners contributed significantly Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed in the game taking four and three wickets respectively.
India eventually finished their second innings with 255 all out, giving England a record target of 399 runs to win. Ben Stokes-led side finished the day 67-1, with Zak Crawley and Rehan Ahmed at the crease, offering them a ray of hope at the end of the Day 4 in the game. However, they faced a difficult task because no touring side had ever chased down more than 276 runs to win a Test match in India.
