With captain Shubman Gill at the helm, India made an amazing comeback from the loss in Leeds to win the second Test in Birmingham. India established a formidable goal for England of 608 as the 25-year-old amassed over 400 runs across two innings, which included a double century and a century. By the end of day four, the tourists had made a quick advance, bringing England down to 72/3 in just 16 overs.

Despite India maintaining a strong advantage going into Day 5, analysts criticized Gill's late statement, which was made almost an hour after Tea. Many believed that India had missed a valuable opportunity to defeat England and tie the series.

In the Bazball era, England's formidable reputation as a fourth-innings chasing side is probably the cause of India's hesitation, according to Ian Ward on Sky Sports. India had previously experienced that fear twice: first at Edgbaston in 2022, where England chased down 378, and then again in Leeds the previous month.

"We always hear England and Ben Stokes say 'we'll try to chase anything to win'," he stated. India's announcement at such a late date can only be explained by the fact that they are merely playing on that here. They're playing with England's ego, confidence, mantra, or whatever else you want to name it.

'The fear of Ben Stokes'

Former England batter Mark Butcher expressed a widespread opinion among English analysts, stating that India was wary of Ben Stokes' team and wanted to make sure that the goal was far out of reach.

Butcher said, "It is a legacy, a tribute, to the fear Stokes and England put into teams when setting fourth-innings targets." "India wants to make sure that England are completely and utterly out of it, and then you ask a team that is reluctant to draw games whether they can do it.

By scoring more quickly, India may have bought themselves more time to win the match. They did that when Pant was at the crease, but not after [until tea].

"We will learn tomorrow if that ends up being the correct course of action, but for now it's a little perplexing."

Read Also: Pitch Invasion by Dog in 2nd Test vs WI; Cummins, Hazlewood Fail to Evict, Drone Intervenes

Get the latest Bollywood entertainment news, trending celebrity news, latest celebrity news, new movie reviews, latest entertainment news, latest Bollywood news, and Bollywood celebrity fashion & style updates!

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON!