India's bowling coach Morne Morkel was full of praise for Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, who have taken 13 wickets between them to give India a great chance to level the five-match series 1-1.
India need seven wickets on the final day after setting England 608 and taking three wickets in the 16 overs possible on the fourth evening. That India have done so in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah has pleased Morkel even more.
"Very, very happy so far," Morkel said. "We had a deep or good discussion after the last Test in terms of areas we want to improve on, and I think we've done that. So that's a pleasing sign from a growing bowling attack, missing one of their most experienced players so they can react to those sort of things."
Siraj went the whole Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 on green surfaces without a five-for, but picked his first five-wicket haul in England on perhaps the flattest pitch India have encountered in the country this century. Morkel said it was just rewards for all the good bowling in the intervening matches between five-fors.
"Siraj is a guy that I've got a lot of respect for," Morkel said. "He's a guy that always will push his body to the limits. I think sometimes the guilty part of him is trying too hard so for us. It's about managing that sort of aggression and managing that intensity because he really bowls with his heart on his sleeve. I think sometimes those sort of things can give you that inconsistency.
"In a match that he's now the leader of the attack, he got the wickets, but for me in terms of effort and energy and with a sore body, he's always done and will put his hand up, and he wants to bowl that over. I don't think sometimes we give him enough credit for that."
Akash Deep's line of attack, Morkel said, gave India the potency in brief windows of the new ball doing something. "He is an attacking bowler that asks questions, bowling at the stumps a lot," Morkel said. "I think that's one of the golden rules here in England: asking questions on the stumps. So for these sort of conditions in the UK, it suits his style. And coming back from injury and seeing him running in with high pace, it's a nice sign for us.
"That was a dream delivery... top quality player Joe Root and to dismiss him in that fashion just shows the quality of Akash, what he can do. I think he is also a guy like all of us. The more confidence you give him, almost like there's a little bit more energy behind the ball and hopefully that delivery he will play over in his phone tonight, and then bring a couple more of those tomorrow."
However, Morkel did say it was not going to be easy as the pitch has responded only to the new ball, and the older ball has gone dramatically soft. "Your skill really gets tested on a surface like that," Morkel said. "The margin for error is a lot smaller. Obviously, that's nipping around a little bit now, but it's going to be a challenge for us tomorrow."
In the first innings, India - having taken five wickets already - tried to buy a wicket with the short ball telegraphed, but Morkel felt this pitch was more about testing the stumps and going short only as a surprise.
"For me personally on this sort of surface, you want to set a field where you can still have both options: using the short ball and try and nick a guy off," Morkel said. "I think at times when you get too predictable, it can be a little bit easier to score because the surface is slow. But remember both those batters are attacking batters. They were going to take it on, and credit to Shubman, he took a gamble there for a couple of overs to potentially get a wicket. England at the time was 80 for 5. So to chase another wicket there, there's no harm in that.
"I thought we moved slightly away from our plans in the first innings, and in a way also with runs on the board you want to go take a couple of more risks but tomorrow for us it's just going to be asking those questions on a good length because we know as the ball gets a little bit softer it is harder to strike."
The ease with which India were batting in the third innings and still scoring at five an over led India to what many might think is a conservative declaration. Morkel said it was more about how much time they wanted to bowl for rather than being spooked by England's approach of late.