Ian Bell: Indian attack looks well balanced with Varun Aaron playing

Ian Bell walks back after being dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar on day 2 of the 4th Test at Old Trafford

England batsman Ian Bell complimented the Indian bowling line-up after they applied brakes on the England batting line-up in the morning session of day 2 by accounting for three wickets.

The 32-year-old credited India’s comeback pacer Varun Aaron and further went a step ahead in calling the Indian attack as better balanced with his inclusion.

"He bowled well obviously to pick those wickets. He has a bit of pace and he has used it on this pitch. He is really complimenting Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the moment and the Indian attack looks well balanced in this match with the two spinners in there as well," Bell pointed out to the duo that accounted for all the 6 England wickets to fall in the Test.

Notably, India also included Ravichandran Ashwin in place of a specialist batsman for this Test.

Match in balance

Speaking on his side’s chances in the crucial fourth Test of the five match series with the sides tied at 1-1: "It certainly is poised very nicely. Hopefully, tomorrow we can get past the 100-run lead maybe get 150 runs ahead if we can. That will put us in a nice position. So far this has been a nice Test match, probably the best cricket wicket we have had all season. It has good pace, good for batsmen and bowlers alike.

"We have two good batsmen at the crease. But it is going to depend a lot on the conditions tomorrow. They have made a big difference in the game so far as we have seen. Someone like Buttler, if he bats for long, he can bat at some rate so hopefully the sun will be shining tomorrow,” the middle-order batsman added.

Frustrating rain delay

Joe Root and Jos Buttler were unbeaten on 48 and 22 and have already added 67 runs for the seventh wicket.

Rain allowed no further play after the initial 9 overs in the second session. The wet outfield made sure that only 36 overs were possible in the day when England looked set to extend their lead of 85 with 4 wickets in hand.

"Yes it was a little frustrating for everyone. We would rather be out there than just inside. But the grounds men worked really hard but they gave everything and unfortunately we couldn’t get on the ground again. It is a shame really, for everyone, the players and the fans," the right-hander stated.