As he told Devendra Pandey
Most hitters were looking for the straightest ball. England had won the toss and had every chance to score big, as they did in Chennai. No team reaching the subcontinent should expect green slopes. They are expected to play on rotating tracks. Sometimes I feel like the visiting teams complain a lot. When we went to Australia, one of their players had commented ‘Come and play in Gabba’. It is their strength and they wanted to use it. When we go to England, do we have green shirts?
I agree with Rohit Sharma that teams will play to their strengths in home conditions. The current Indian bowling attack is the best bowling attack in the world. Whether spinning or sewing, we are the best.
I feel like England hit bad in the first innings. They had moments of brain fade. They were probably overthinking. At the same time, they relied heavily on Joe Root and Ben Stokes to deliver. If they don’t score, the other guys don’t have the experience of hitting for long hours in subcontinental conditions. They did not trust his defense, which is the key to success in test cricket. I felt that the pitch was not so bad. If England had scored some 250 odd runs in the first innings, it would have been a good test match. There is no point blaming the tone.
Look at the ground before playing four pacemakers: Amol Muzumdar
More than tone, the problem is elsewhere. This team from England has come here with textbook plans. But it doesn’t always work. It is as if they have written something and want to follow it. That is theory. But it is important to think quickly. In the pink ball event, four fast pitchers played. At least look at the ground. If a team plays four fast pitchers on a dry field, they will run into trouble. After winning the first test match, they were in a good position, but they were just following a particular plan without using cricket sense.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.