Former England captain Michael Vaughan has weighed in on the ongoing second Test at Edgbaston, predicting India’s win over England. Vaughan pointed to India’s strong position. He also said that England might find it tough chasing anything over 450, and that India should be aiming for a 500-run target to shut the door completely.
Team India appear to be in full control after the first three days of play. Batting first, the visitors posted a daunting 587 in the first innings, a total that put England on the back foot immediately.
India’s bowlers then made early inroads, reducing England to 84/5 in the first session of Day 3. However, a defiant 303-run stand between Harry Brook and debutant Jamie Smith brought the hosts back in the contest. But India bounced back late in the day by wrapping up the lower-order and regained momentum. At stumps, India were 64/1 in their second innings, leading by 244 runs with two days left in the match.
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Michael Vaughan Predicts India’s Win at Edgbaston
Vaughan backed India to level the series with a win and said the return of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested at Edgbaston, for the third Test at Lord’s would further tilt things in their favour.
"India should win this game, it should be 1-1 going to Lord's. Bumrah will come back into the side, probably at the expense of Prasidh Krishna. If India play the same intense cricket they have done for three days, if they can carry on that mindset they should ask enough questions of England this week to level the series," Vaughan said as quoted on Cricbuzz.
He praised India's batting intent late on Day 3 and opined India should look to bat England out of the game on Day 4 and make sure they do not leave the door open for any miracle chase. Notably, England successfully chased down 371 runs in the previous match.
"Look, no one has ever chased over 420, so you look at 450 as your first banker, but I think Shubman will want to have 500. I was really impressed by the way India batted late today where they went out and played their shots, and they got off to a flying start. One of the reasons you have deep batting is for these kinds of situations as well."
He also urged India to leave enough time on Day 4 to attack England’s top-order, stating that a few wickets late in the day could make all the difference.
"In my mind as a captain, I would not want to be going into Day 5 with no wickets down for England. I would want to give myself enough time tomorrow night to get England 2-3 wickets down. If England are tired now, we have an issue, because they will have to rotate so much over the course of the next few weeks," Vaughan stated.
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Can England Fight Back From Here?
For India, the plan will be to bat deep into the day and extend the lead close to or beyond 500, and then have a crack at the England top-order before stumps. They still have plenty of batting left and quick runs in the first session will help them control the pace of the game.
England will be hoping for early wickets in the morning to slow India down. If they can keep the lead under 450 and avoid losing wickets late in the day, they will give themselves a slim chance of saving the Test.
Also read: IND vs ENG: ‘When you know that your coach is backing you…’: Akash Deep on coach Gambhir's backing
