Manchester: England pacer Stuart Broad has said that their bowling attack made good use of the overcast conditions after losing the toss and they now need to bat India out of the fourth Test.
India were bowled out for 152 runs on the opening day at Old Trafford and the hosts are now looking to capitalise on the visitors' failure in the first innings.
“I was disappointed to find out that we lost the toss and then we got lucky with overhead conditions,” said Broad.
“But it wasn't just about the conditions. We bowled well and hit the right lengths with the new ball and it was swinging nicely. We challenged the Indian batsmen with right lengths and took our catches to put ourselves in a really good position.”
India were reduced to 8/4 at one stage as Broad (6-25) and James Anderson (3-46) wreaked havoc. Broad said that the England bowlers were just spot on in favourable conditions.
“It happened very quickly for us and they were all decent balls. It's not like the Indian batsmen will be kicking themselves for playing those shots. They certainly had to play at those deliveries. I can't remember a Test match where we knocked out a top-order like that.
“The bounce was very good and getting a leg before was very hard. So it was good bowling because we didn't get carried away with that bounce,” said Broad.
“The big thing was that the nicks were carrying and as a bowler that is a huge advantage. The ball was swinging nicely but when the sun came out, R Ashwin and MS Dhoni showed that it was a decent wicket to bat on.
“The zip in the pitch went away to some extent so we did really well in the first hour and it was really good for us,” he added.
