Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes the visitors are in a good position heading into the fifth Test at Edgbaston, taking a 361 lead on day four despite losing four wickets in the first session. Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant scored 66 and 57 respectively as India reached 229/7 from 73 overs in the second innings, which is sure to have bounce up the pitch and some help to the spinners.
Shastri said that to chase the final total, England will need to do something special with their batsmen, which the hosts will try to chase. Before facing India in Edgbaston, England chased down 277, 299 and 296 in their 3-0 sweep of New Zealand in June.
Shastri said during the lunch break programme: “India is in a great position. They said 350 would be the minimum score, but if runs are scored beyond that it will be a bonus. Day four, day five chasing 350 plus a spinning wheel. Jadeja is never easy to play with. He’s definitely going to be important. He won’t be an easy target for England.”
In the first innings, save for Jonny Bairstow’s 106, the rest of the English batsmen failed in their efforts as they all managed 284 in 61.3 overs, giving India a 132-run lead. Now with him at Edgbaston, former England cricketer Mark Butcher is hoping England go after a tough target. India is 2-1 in the five-game series against England and a win at Edgbaston would give them their fourth series victory in England since 1971, 1986 and 2007.