We would like to bat and have enough back-up runs: Shami hints at safe approach

India would set New Zealand a target only after getting enough “back-up runs” on the final day of the World Test Championship Final, senior pacer Mohammed Shami said on Tuesday, hinting that the team would adopt a ‘safety first’ approach.

India were 64 for 2 at stumps on the fifth day with a 32-run lead. Skipper Virat Kohli and seasoned Cheteshwar Pujara were at the crease.

“We have lost a lot of time due to rain. So there is no discussion as such, on a total. We have just started our second innings and we need to put runs on the board,” Shami, India”s man of the day with four wickets, said at the press conference.

“We have to score as many as possible and then see how much time is left to put them in and decide accordingly.

“In conditions like England, anything can happen but we simply can’t have a pre-plan in mind that we can get them out in this many overs. You need time to get 10 wickets and some solid plans in place. But first, we need to enough back-up runs,” Shami said which meant that Indians won’t mind a draw in current circumstances.

Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers on the fifth day and he was pleased that the plans that he wanted to execute came off nicely.

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