India remain in the driver's seat as Day 4 in Birmingham closed with England needing a mammoth 536 runs more, with seven wickets in hand. Riding on captain Shubman Gill's second consecutive century in the match, India stand on the cusp of levelling the five-match series 1-1, after having lost the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy opener by five wickets in Leeds last month.
However, the path to victory on the final day looks difficult amid a rain threat in the opening session on Sunday. This raised questions about whether Gill was too late announcing the declaration, which came an hour after the Tea break on Day 4.
It was felt that India would declare their second innings following a lead of 550, which came shortly after Tea, when Gill launched Joe Root for back-to-back sixes. But they batted for another five overs, before declaring, thus setting a target of 608.
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India's bowling coach Morne Morkel later explained in the press conference after stumps on Day 4, saying that the management had a chat in the dressing room before taking the call. He reckoned that the runs secured from those extra five overs of batting were "bonus" for the Indian team.
{{/usCountry}}India's bowling coach Morne Morkel later explained in the press conference after stumps on Day 4, saying that the management had a chat in the dressing room before taking the call. He reckoned that the runs secured from those extra five overs of batting were "bonus" for the Indian team.
{{/usCountry}}"We did speak about it [timing of declaration] a lot during the day. It's still a good wicket, even our boys were batting quite comfortably there towards the back end. They were batting at 4-5 runs an over," Morkel said. "You can't control the weather. It was about getting ourselves into a comfortable position and having 20-25 overs at them tonight to take a few wickets. We got that, which is a bonus for us."
The criticism around India's call, however, had subsided after England lost three wickets in the remaining one hour of play, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep's new-ball burst.
Despite the rain threat, Morkel believes the track still has enough on offer for the Indian bowlers to pick the remaining seven wickets and level the series.
"We saw today that if you get the ball in the right areas, there's some assistance. We just need to be on the money tomorrow," the former South Africa fast bowler added.
Although India are destined for a win in Birmingham, Morkel is aware of the threat Harry Brook possesses, who will resume his knock on Day 5 on 15 off 15.
"Harry Brook likes to take the game on and he's an entertainer," Morkel said. "That's a brand of cricket they want to play. They probably might have a go for a while and then reassess."