Team India will look to build on an already healthy lead at Edgbaston, Birmingham as day four of the second Test looms. Despite losing an important toss at Edgbaston, the tourists have finished three days of this Test with their noses on front as they hope to draw the five-match series after losing in Leeds.
After being put into bat on day one at Edgbaston, India finished at 310/5, with visiting captain Shubman Gill leading from the front with an unbeaten 114. However, it was on day two that Gill put on a clinic, belting a double-hundred and was finally dismissed for 269 as Team India amassed 587. Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj also made early inroads with the ball, reducing England to 77/3 by Stumps on day two.
After Siraj nipped out Joe Root (22) and Ben Stokes (0) in back-to-back deliveries on day 3, Jamie Smith and Harry Brook launched a counterattack of the highest order. Smith and Brook strung a partnership of 303 to shift the pressure back on the opposition. However, Siraj's persistence earned him six wickets and Team India a hefty 180-run lead and found themselves ahead by 244 by the end of Day 3.
"When you know that your coach is backing you, then you get the confidence" - Akash Deep
Akash Deep, who picked up four wickets in England's first innings, remarked at the post-day press conference that coach Gautam Gambhir has assisted him in every way possible. The right-arm seamer stated, as quoted by The Indian Express:
"He (Gautam Gambhir) kept sharing his experience with me. What a player needs from a coach in terms of confidence, he has given me. And his confidence in me only has reflected in this match. When you know that your coach is backing you, then you get the confidence and it gets reflected in the match. He was telling me I donโt even know what skills I have. So thatโs motivating when the coach says that. He along with Morne Morkel kept reminding me of my strengths."
