Follow UsIndia had a torrid day on the field on Day 3 of the Manchester Test against England. They have handed England a lead of 186 runs and stare at a massive defeat, which could cost them the series. As many as five England batters scored over 50, while Joe Root converted that into his 38th Test ton.
With the batters going great guns, India skipper Shubman Gill did not introduce one of his key bowlers, Washington Sundar earlier into the game. He had picked up four wickets at Lord's to give India a sniff. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner came into bowl only in the 69th over and got the wickets of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in quick succession.
When asked about the reasoning behind the delayed introduction of Sundar, India bowling coach Morne Morkel said, "Shubman just made the call in there to stick a little bit longer with the seam options.
"I think in the first couple of days we saw the ball moving around and seaming around and pace on the ball was the way to go, and then when we got the opportunity to bowl, we missed our length. So did we bowl enough good balls to say that we need to go to spin straightaway? I don't think so. And I think when he got the opportunity today with ball in hand, Washi did a great job for us."
In this Test series, India have gone in for an extra batting cushion ahead of playing spinner Kuldeep Yadav. With Sundar in the team, India bat till eight, which proved pivotal in helping them win the Edgbaston Test and nearly helped them pull off a victory at Lord's.
However, Morkel insists that they are doing everything to try and fit Kuldeep in the XI. "I think it's finding when he comes in, how we can find balance and how we can get that batting line-up to be a little bit longer and stronger," Morkel said.
"We've seen in the past that we've lost wickets in clumps. Kuldeep is world-class, and he's bowling really well at the moment, so we're trying our best to find ways for him to get in. But unfortunately, with that, just to balance with batting throws it out a little bit."
England ended Day 3 on 544/7 in reply to India's 358. Skipper Ben Stokes is unbeaten on 77 and has Liam Dawson, who is batting on 21, for company.