Nottingham, July 31: The third day of the second Test at Trent Bridge was highly productive for England with Ian Bell playing a brilliant innings of 159, complemented by Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Matt Prior. England’s lead had swelled to 374 runs with four wickets in hand at stumps on Day 3.

The day also highlighted the spirit of the gentleman’ s game with MS Dhoni recalling Ian Bell after the batsman was given out by the umpires in unusual circumstances.

Ravi Shastri reviews the day in an exclusive interaction with www.bcci.tv

On the day being excellent for England

Outstanding, I think [the batsmen] put them in the driver’s seat. All they have to do now is drive home the advantage, bat for another hour, hour- and-a-half and then try and get [the] ten wickets required.

On Ian Bell’s innings at No. 3

Beautiful innings, he is a class player. You don’t find this kind of timing and wristwork with English players. The last player I saw in my time who had similar kind of timing was David Gower. He is a class act; he has a wide range of shots and he batted absolutely beautifully today.

On India playing within the spirit of the game by calling Bell back

They did, but I have my reservations. If I was captain I would have asked Bell to continue with the cup of tea […] India were perfectly entitled to do that. In hindsight you will say okay; if you look at the bigger picture, it’s a brave decision from [MS] Dhoni. But personally, I would have asked Bell to carry on with a cup of tea.

On Matt Prior’s knock in the context of the match

He is a very good wicketkeeper batsman; he is strong, he is a tough nut and he’s got a wide range of shots. He is not afraid to take the attack to the opposition and at No. 7 he is a great asset for England.

On whether England would look to declare their innings or wait till they are bowled out

I think they will be bowled out. I would imagine they would go for it for an hour, hour- and-a-half. If they get the runs, they will try and have a crack at India half-an-hour before lunch.