After putting up a strong first innings total, thanks largely to a splendid partnership from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, the duo and the rest of the bowlers will look to make the ball do the talking when India take on England on Day 3 of the first Test at Trent Bridge.
Where to Watch Live
Day 3 is scheduled for an 11 pm BST (3.30 pm IST, 6 am ET) start with live coverage on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports HD1 in India. The match can be watched via live streaming online in India HERE. Get the live scores and updates HERE. Watch the match in the UK on Sky Sports 2, with the option to live stream HERE. Viewers in the US can catch the game on ESPN 3 with the option to catch the action live online HERE.
The pitch got the better of the England bowlers in the end, with the likes of Stuart Broad and James Anderson putting plenty of effort, toiling as hard as they could, before eventually conceding 457 runs in the first innings.
Bhuvneshwar and Shami were key to India getting to a total above 450, with the two tail-enders putting on a 111-run partnership for the final wicket, after India had slumped to 346 for nine following a four-wicket burst from England in the post-Lunch session.
England had to face 17 overs before the end of Day 2, and they got to 43 for one, with skipper Alastair Cook failing to find his batting mojo again. Shami came to the fore with the ball as well, to send the skipper packing, but the bowlers will have a lot more work to do if they are to skittle England out for a small total on this extremely slow, flat pitch.
"It was important that we didn't lose more [wickets] than one because tomorrow we'll come here with the shine off the ball and hopefully it will be a decent day to bat," Stuart Broad told ECB's official website on Thursday.
"If it is a bit cloudy then it will obviously do a bit more. We see when the sun is out here at Trent Bridge that it doesn't do a huge amount. Hopefully the bowlers won't have to pull the pads on."
While India will hope for some help from the weather, the key bowler on Day 3 could be Ravindra Jadeja – not just to pick up the wickets, but also to tie one end up and give the opportunity for the fast bowlers to take charge one at a time from the other end, while getting enough rest.
England struggled considerably to trouble India with spin, with Moeen Ali clearly nowhere near good enough to take up the primary spin mantle.
Jadeja has become India's first-choice spin option away from home mainly because of his ability to keep things tight at one end with his accuracy; and on this slow wicket, with the ball keeping a little bit low as well, Jadeja's accuracy might come into play in the mould of wickets.
The home side, on the other hand, will look to score as many runs as possible on this hard-to-get-runs-away wicket, with Sam Robson and Gary Ballance, the two batsmen at the crease, targeting a big partnership to take the pressure off their middle order.
"Tomorrow is a really big day for us because it's all right saying the wicket is pretty flat and slow, but you can't really comment on a wicket until both teams have batted on it," Broad added.
"If we end the day tomorrow on 300 for four then it's a flat wicket. If we're 150 all out it's not. It's a big day for us and we just have to try and bat as big as we can."
Lineups: England: Alastair Cook (capt), Sam Robson, Gary Balance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Matt Prior, Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, Liam Plunkett, James Anderson.
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (capt), Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.
