Would have liked to have got another wicket
Yup, England fought their way into a good position from 62/5 which put the game back in the balance, and having given themselves a good 27 overs to bowl they didn't make most of the new ball. While a lot of criticism has rightly been aimed at Broad, you need three seamers in a four man attack (including a spinner) to be near their best and Anderson has had one of his off days - two tailenders aside. You need more from them, especially when there's a bit in the pitch
, for me, there are two big factors:
What happens with Tendulkar and Gambhir? You'd guess Sachin will bat, can Gambhir even hold one?
The first session. Massive.
Morning sessions can often be very important. Tendulkar will bat, he wouldn't have fielded otherwise. Can't bat until after lunch though or at the fall of the fifth wicket. Depends with Gambhir the extent of his injury, I would think he'd only bat if India have a hope of saving the match.
We need 2-3 wickets in the morning session, England may have a mental block in their way though,
that big chase of the Indians has a lot of commentators on about it so I'm guessing that will filter down to the players. It is highly unlikely even the Indians will chase down 450, England MUST not take out their third slip too early and scupper their chances of winning. If the Indians are 250 for 1-2 wickets sometime mid-afternoon then they might think about defending but even then the Indians would still have 200 runs to knock off.
Given the pitch, I won't be disappointed with the draw as long as we bowl well enough. Broad is still looking good and there's something there for Swann.
I would be somewhat disappointed, there is enough in it and England are well on top. India will have done well to bat out a whole day, especially if 2+ batsmen are struggling with injury/illness. It will feel like a win for the Indians if they get a draw, I'm not suggesting we should batter them or bowl them out for less than 250, but we should be able to pick up 2+ wickets per session on any pitch and 5+ down by tea should give us a shot - especially with a new ball due before tea (53 overs time) If England can get a few wickets, get that new ball before tea and have two goes at the remaining batsmen anything is possible.
That said, if Swann doesn't get anything much out of the pitch England may come to regret only having three seamers.
