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| Wanted to finish Test quickly as Bumrah could have been brought in with second new ball: Smith | | | 
London, Jun 29: England batters' decision to go after Ravindra Jadeja in the 82nd over and complete the task of winning the first Test in a hurry was borne out of the thinking that India could bring in their strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah in a desperate attempt to take some late wickets.
With Joe Root and keeper-batter Jamie Smith batting comfortably and the winning target of 371 within sniffing distance, the latter finished off the contest by smashing Jadeja for two sixes and a boundary to guide the hosts to a memorable five-wicket win.
"The runs at that point (when Smith decided to go after Jadeja) were not too many, so I wasn't expecting him (Bumrah) to come on and bowl (with the new ball), but you're just never quite sure, especially in cricket," Smith was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
England's thinking was that had Shubman Gill pressed Bumrah into service when the hosts were 355/5 after the 81st over and the Indian quick had struck a couple of blows, things could have become slightly difficult for Ben Stokes' side.
"You don't know what will happen. I always back our tail but there could be a couple of decent balls and suddenly you're eight-down and the pressure's back on you again. It was nice to just get it done and move on."
"I knew there was a new ball coming and it looks as though I'd exposed Chris Woakes (at No. 8) but, at that point, if I'd hit another couple of sixes in that over, you're taking all the momentum into the new ball," said Smith.
He added, "The second new ball can bring wickets but it can increase the scoring rate as well. There's always a little bit of calculated thinking behind it."
Smith said India "kept trying all day" on the final day but England's philosophy of keeping it simple in good batting conditions helped the hosts get over the line.
Chasing 371, England won in the final hour with Ben Duckett (149), Zak Crawley (65), Root (53 not out) and Smith (44 not out) delivering the goods.
"It was simple in that you knew you had to chase the runs and we weren't going to block out for the draw,” Smith said.
"We were always going to be positive and try to get the runs. It was a rapid outfield and as good a batting conditions as you could have on day five.”
"It (wicket) wasn't misbehaving too much as the Test went on, so you always felt as though you could keep it simple, you didn't have to do things too out the box to get the runs which is very helpful,” he said.
Smith said he did not read much into the talk about the inexperience in the Indian side.
"When they're trying to get 10 wickets and you're chasing 370, it's not everyday that gets done. There could have been some head-downs at the end but they kept trying all day,” he said.
"I see a lot of chat about maybe some inexperience on their part but I thought they were fantastic throughout the five days."
Smith said the backing from the team management to play aggressively had helped him.
"It's great. Having that belief from other people is something that definitely took my game to the next level,” he said.
“When you're out there batting, it is you and your partner at the other end, so it's quite individual, but to have that backing and trust that other people are doing the same thing, you don't feel you're alone when you're doing what you feel is right in that moment.”
"When you are caught on the boundary trying to hit the ball for six, you feel you're not going to get a slap on the wrist.
(The attitude is) 'mate, that was a good option, the wind was howling that way’,” he said (PTI)
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