India v England: Paul Farbrace hails 'outstanding' bowlers on day three
"The bowlers are exhausted. They put a lot into today"
Friday 11 November 2016 15:43, UK
England's bowlers were "outstanding" on day three of the first Test against India in Rajkot, according to assistant coach Paul Farbrace.
After hundreds from Murali Vijay (126) and Cheteshwar Pujara (124) helped the hosts eat into England's first innings total of 537, the tourists took two wickets in the final two overs of the day to reduce India to 319-4.
Farbrace believes it was just reward for the bowling attack after battling away on a good batting wicket against two set batsmen.
"Today's been outstanding," said Farbrace. "We were saying with 10 minutes to go we'd like one more wicket to give the boys a bit of a lift into tomorrow, so to get two in the last few minutes is fantastic.
"The bowlers are exhausted. They put a lot into today. They kept going throughout, and deserved their rewards at the end.
"And when you do get your rewards at the end, it makes is so much easier for the guys looking ahead to tomorrow.
"There's still an awful lot of cricket to be played in this game, so we're not getting carried away. But it's a great way to finish.
"I think we've learned an awful lot from how we bowled in Bangladesh. We talked about needing to be better at holding lines, holding lengths.
"So to concede just 64 runs to two set batsmen in that middle session, and 250-odd runs total in the day on a very good pitch was so pleasing.
"It is tough conditions, but it's tough for everybody, and our spinners, in particular, have shown today they have learned a lot from the Bangladesh experience. I think all three of them bowled brilliantly well.
"We know there's a long way to go, but it just shows this team is very capable of improving and improving quickly. It has been an outstanding day for us."
Live Test Cricket
Watch live coverage from day four of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot, from 3.45am on Sky Sports 2 on Saturday. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract - on NOW TV.
