‘We’ll chase whatever they set us’ – Harry Brook confident of England’s chances for Edgbaston Test

Harry Brook (Source: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)

England batter Harry Brook is confident about his team’s chances in the second Test at Edgbaston despite India being in a strong position by the end of Day 3. The home team’s counterattack, anchored by Brook himself and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, played a big role in England’s comeback into the contest before India extended their lead with a solid start to their second innings.

Day 3 began with England trailing by 503 runs, and they were pushed back even further when Mohammed Siraj dismissed Joe Root and Ben Stokes in successive deliveries. However, Brook and Smith came together and produced a magnificent 303-run stand, England’s second-highest for the sixth wicket. Smith’s maiden Test century came off just 80 balls, the joint-third fastest for England. Brook hammered his ninth Test century, and first against India, which came in the afternoon session, and he went on to score a 158. The right-hand batter mentioned his team’s chances of winning the Test and praised Smith’s knock.

“I still think we can win this Test match, to be honest. I believe if we take a couple of early wickets tomorrow and put them under pressure and hopefully they can crumble up there and everybody knows in the world that we are going to try and chase whatever they set us, so we’ll see how they play. It was nice to spend some time out there with Smudge [Jamie Smith]. He has a long England career ahead of him. Hopefully we’ve clawed ourselves back in the game. He played phenomenally well there. He put all the momentum back in our favour,” said Brook to the BBC.

Akash and Siraj bowled well: Harry Brook

Indian pacer Akash Deep ended Brook’s innings with a nip-backer that dismantled the stumps. Following which England collapsed from 387 for 5 to 407 all out, the last five wickets falling for just 20 runs. Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj ended with a career-best figures of 6 for 70 on English soil, while Deep picked four. Brook appreciated the Indian bowlers for attacking the stumps.

“If I hadn’t got out, we would not be in this situation now but we saw last week how quickly it can change. Akash and Siraj bowled well. They attacked the stumps with all modes of dismissal in play,” he added.

Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul raced to 51 inside 13 overs. Jaiswal smashed six boundaries before falling LBW to Josh Tongue on 28. Rahul remained unbeaten on 28 as India closed the day at 64 for 1, extending their lead to 244.

“Thankfully, we’ve seen the back of Jaiswal, and hopefully we can make inroads tomorrow. India are in the driving seat, but hopefully we can put pressure with early wickets and make them crumble,” concluded Brook.

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