Graeme Swann has said that he is delighted with the way Cook and Prior batted on the fourth day and if they would continue to bat in the same way on the final day as well, England would surely be able to save the first test match. Swann was talking to the reporters at the end of the fourth day’s play.
When asked if there is still a chance to save the test match, Swann said, “Yes, I think so. There is still a chance. Both the batsmen at the crease have played superbly today. Especially, the inning played by Cooky has been a mighty skilful one. He has really handled the spinners wonderfully well.”
“He has got great concentration power. He just goes on and on. There has hardly been a rash shot played in this inning so far. He has definitely shown us the way.”
“If both the not out batsmen play till tea tomorrow, there is a very good chance that we would save the match. But, if we lose early wickets tomorrow, it would become almost impossible for us to prevent India’s victory.”
“I am an optimist. I always think positively. I believe that Cooky and Matty have got the skills to see off the whole day tomorrow. It’s not easy to get them out once they get set. Matty has got aggressive shots as well. So, if he bats for even three hours tomorrow, we would have a lead of 160-170 and we would put even India under pressure. But, the first thing we would have to make sure is that we don’t lose even one wicket in the first session.”
“If we would have shown a bit more application in the first innings, the result of the match could have been different. But, that’s gone now and nothing can be done about that. Hopefully, tomorrow will be our day and we would manage to save the match.”