London, Aug 3 Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad believes Harry Brook will try to ramp up the pressure on the Indian bowlers as they begin to tire on Day Four of the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval here on Sunday.
Brook’s high-risk approach in the chase of 374 has led to him bringing up his 14th Test fifty off 39 balls. In the first session, Brook had a big reprieve on 19 when Mohammed Siraj, who came back on the field after a short break, attempted to take the catch in the deep off Prasidh. But in the process of taking it, the pacer stepped on the boundary cushion to concede a six.
“Harry Brook will treat this like a 50-over game. He'll find the boundary where possible. If it's not going to be a boundary, it'll be a single, trying to put the fielders under pressure. And the more tired the Indian bowlers get, the more pressure Brook will try and put on them,” said Broad on JioHotstar.
“So it's one of those where you say you've got to take your chances against Harry Brook. And have we seen the biggest chance going? Actually, some famous drop catches have gone on to help teams win. And hopefully for Mohammed Siraj and India’s sake, we won't be looking at this drop catch as a pinnacle moment in the series,” he said.
Despite Brook going strong, Broad still feels India are favourites to win the fifth Test and make the series, especially with Chris Woakes not coming out to bat due to a dislocated left shoulder.
“I definitely still see India as favourites. I think the pitch is still doing enough. Siraj brought a fantastic spell this morning. You could see the wobbly seam was nipping around a little bit. Anytime you get Ben Duckett out in a run chase, it feels like a huge moment. It was a brilliant bit of bowling from Krishna.”
“It's Harry Brook who can take this game away from India. He is the huge wicket to get. If Brook gets 100 off 80 balls, England would win. If they get him out before 50, India wins. But remember, Chris Woakes won't bat unless it gets really, really close towards the end. So, although England feel like they bat deep, they will miss Chris Woakes at the back end.”
Former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar felt England's fightback in the first session would give them the belief to do something special at The Oval. “Counter-punch again from England, and that's been the kind of series that we've had. One team is on top, but suddenly the other team finds the strength to punch back, and that's been the case.”
“And this has been England's counter-punch because they were sort of on the back foot after losing Ben Duckett. Indian bowlers again exploited that incoming ball to good effect. But Ben Duckett was the main wicket, I believe. He scores at a brisk rate, did try his chance, and went past his 50,” he added.
“But Prasidh made sure that the length adjustment caused his dismissal. After that, it felt like, okay, now here with Harry Brook, who might be able to give a couple of chances. Harry Brook was early in the session, so a lot was going India's way. Till the time, Harry Brook just added energy into the entire proceedings.”
“Because that's how you would put it, he's put a little bit of pressure back on the Indian bowlers. And it will mean that England would also go into lunch believing that they could create something special here,” he concluded.
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