Follow UsIt is set to be another long, hard day for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval. Australia are already ahead by 296 runs and have six wickets in hand. Marnus Labuschagne (41*) is well-set at the moment and along with Cameron Green (7*) and Alex Carey, Australia will look to stretch the lead beyond 400.
Shardul Thakur, who played a vital role with the bat in the first innings, says India have yet to give up hope and has backed his side to chase down a target of 400-450.
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"Well, cricket is a funny game. You can never say what is the right total and this one-off game, especially ICC finals, you never know, I mean, who can handle the pressure better out there - one good partnership and you can even chase down 450 or maybe more than that," Thakur said in a press conference at the end of Day Three,
"So last year that England have chased [close to] 400 here and they did not lose too many wickets. So that's a positive sign for us. Whatever they put up on the board, it's too early to make any predictions. We see a lot of times in Test cricket that the game changes within an hour. So yes, we like to be optimistic tomorrow going on the field. And yeah, we'll take it on from there."
Thakur put on 109 for the seventh wicket with Ajinkya Rahane (89) to reduce the daylight between the two sides. Speaking of the partnership, Thakur said that the task in hand initially was to absorb the pressure and take it from there.
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"We just had to absorb the pressure. We were talking to each other a lot," Thakur said.
"If the ball is moving, how is it moving? How did the bowler grip the ball, where the inside was, particularly, I mean, after pitching there was seam movement or swing in the air, even if we played wrong. And, he is a senior player, he has played a lot, he told me that even if I make a mistake, you come and talk to me and tell me on the spot.
"Because we are a last recognized pair. So, the more we stay on the pitch, the more the team will benefit. And we will be able to run as much as possible."
Elaborating further on Rahane's comeback to the Test squad, Thakur believes that his Mumbai teammate used all his experience of playing in such conditions count.
"I think Ajinkya is known as a top player in world cricket. And he has played overseas for India, where he has scored a lot of centuries and has built a lot of partnerships. In England, Australia and in the last South African series he batted very well although he didn't make 50 in Johannesburg but I remember the 40-45 he made was class," Thakur said.
"But last time also when he was in a lean patch, it didn't seem like he would get out. He was always batting well. And this time, the domestic matches that he has played, the runs that he has made in Ranji Trophy we saw his batting with that confidence and as I said he is an experienced player, he has had the experience of playing in England so he were using that experience to bat."
The all-rounder also confirmed that Rahane did not take the field on Day Three as a precaution as he had injured a finger that was previously fractured a few years ago.
Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has not had the best of Test matches. He got the wicket of Virat Kohli with a peach but has not been able to maintain the pressure on the batters, conceding over five an over. Looking ahead to the Ashes, it could be something that England might use to their advantage. However, Starc is not sweating as he believes the three pacers complement each other well.
"It's been plenty of times in the past I've gone for more runs than the other guys. Again, the role that I play is more of an aggressive role to bring in those stumps and bowl those fuller lengths and create those chances - so there will be plenty of discussions after this game," Starc explained.
"First and foremost, we need to win a Test Championship and then we'll focus on the England side with the next five tests - but yeah, as I said before we all the bowlers complement each other differently with different skill sets and the way we go about it which I think creates a - again it creates a good problem to have in terms of selection."
With Josh Hazlewood set to be fit for the Ashes, Australia will now have four fully fit bowlers at their disposal. Speaking of that, Starc said, "Certainly, tough decisions. I think you've just seen the way that Scotty's bowled here already and what he offers. I think the beauty is that we all offer certain things and no one bowl is the same.
"You've obviously got Michael Neser around as well and Sean Abbott. He's the only one he plays here at Surrey so we've got a good contingent. Much like we did last tour here we picked attacks based on the grounds or who we were up against as well so whether that's another plan of attack I'm not sure.
"The fact that we've got six guys and two, six quicks and two spinners around the group at the minute leaves options open for no matter what they want to do. Yeah, Josh is getting himself right for that first test. I think he's having a trunnel tomorrow. Scotty, either way, he's bowled throughout the summer and certainly this week. Definitely makes it a hard decision as well. So yeah, it's a good problem to have."
It was a good day for India on the field. They put on 144 runs for the last four wickets and have not let the Australian batters run away with the match in the second innings as well. Moreover, they have managed to get the huge scalps of Steven Smith and Travis Head, who scored centuries earlier in the match, relatively early as well.
Can India pull things back further on Day Four?