England cricket team fans would be disheartened after once again the side failed to capitalize on a good start. The Ben Stokes led side were in a state of ascendancy at 175-3 but then the side was bundled out for a paltry 218 runs in 57.4 overs. Ben Stokes was dismissed for a duck as he was completely bamboozled by the left arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav who took a 5 wicket haul.
It won’t be wrong to say that Kuldeep Yadav has made a strong case for himself ahead of overseas tours, the spinner has taken 17 wickets in the Test series and has foxed the batters with his variations. Kuldeep Yadav wasn’t afraid to pitch the ball up even when Jonny Bairstow was whacking him all-around the park and eventually the spinner had the last laugh.
There was no pressure as the series was gone- Owais Shah angry on Ben Stokes’ brigade
Owais Shah was having an interaction with Colors Cineplex and was quite perplexed after seeing the performance of England’s batting line up in the 1st innings. Owais Shah pointed out that all England’s batters have ample experience of playing Test cricket at the pinnacle level. Owais Shah said that this was an opportunity for English batters to make a case for themselves and end the series on a high note.
“It is disappointing because captain Stokes won the toss also and decided to bat. Both openers gave them a very good start as well. They have given good starts in the entire series but the middle order didn’t fire once again. I am myself unable to understand why the England middle order is not firing. They have Ben Stokes and Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow is playing his 100th Test. So it’s not that they are yesterday’s kids, all of them have decent experience,” said Owais Shah.
“If we see the second innings of the fourth Test in Ranchi, there was pressure on the batters and they got out quickly. There was no pressure today as the series was gone. However, this was an opportunity for the batters to bat on such a good wicket but they lost it,” he stated.
“You should know by the fifth Test what all deliveries Kuldeep Yadav has and how he uses them. However, I feel there are still four or five batters in England’s middle order who couldn’t read him from the hand. You can only attack a bowler when you read him from the hand,” he added.
Terrible batting performance from England
England’s openers Zak Crawley & Ben Duckett smashed their 5th 50 wicket opening partnership in the Test series. The duo have made sure that they lay the foundation for the rest of the batters but the rest of the batters haven’t been able to perform according to the credentials which has hurt the team immensely.
Head coach Brendon McCullum & skipper Ben Stokes will have to rethink their ultra-attacking approach as they not only lost the Test series against the mighty Indian team but their star studded middle order batters fell like a pack of a cards which was quite shocking and embarrassing.