Former England captain Michael Atherton said that India now has a very hard job in the fourth Test match at Old Trafford. He was not shocked when India lost two early wickets on the morning of Day 4. He said it is always tough to bat when your team is more than 300 runs behind.
Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and B Sai Sudharsan got out for zero runs. Both wickets fell to England’s experienced bowler Chris Woakes, who bowled well in the first few overs. After only three overs, India was in trouble with just 1 run for 2 wickets. They still trail England by more than 300 runs and need a huge effort to even reach the fifth day of the match.
Atherton said, “When you walk out to bat over 300 runs behind, it’s one of the hardest situations in Test cricket. So, it didn’t surprise me that India lost two early wickets. Coming back from this position is going to be very difficult.”
He also talked about how Jaiswal has had a strange series. He said, “Jaiswal has played well in some matches but failed in others. India also has a problem with the number 3 position. Sudharsan hasn’t done much, and they don’t seem to have a solid player in that spot.”
Atherton praised England for keeping India in the field for more than 150 overs while scoring a massive 669 runs. He said, “Former Australian captain Steve Waugh once called this kind of pressure ‘mental disintegration.’ That’s what England did. They made India stay on the field for too long, and that tired them out.”
Ricky Ponting, another former Australian captain, agreed with Atherton. He said, “It’s been a great few days for England. Ben Stokes scored a century and also took five wickets, which helped a lot. India looked tired. The shots from Jaiswal and Sudharsan showed that. They looked like players who had spent too much time on the field.”
Ponting added that India’s situation will only get worse as the day goes on. “The pitch will get harder to bat on, and India is already under a lot of pressure,” he said.