Last Updated:
Nasser Hussain says India must rely on spinners to control the second Test at Edgbaston. Despite a strong start, India’s position is precarious, increasing pressure for Lord’s.
Nasser Hussain issued warning to the Indian Squad. (AFP, AP)
Nasser Hussain feels that India will have to rely on its spinners if they want to maintain control of the second Test match against England, ongoing at the Edgbaston. He contends that India’s position is still precarious despite their strong display.
Writing on the Daily Mail, Hussain professed that should India lose this delicate positioning, the players will be under immense pressure for their next match that takes place at Lord’s. He noted that they will need to work the pitch in their favour if they are to emerge victorious.
“India want to extract some spin deeper into the contest and I think the game needs the ball to spin too, because Test match pitches either need to give the bowlers something to work with at the start of an innings or deteriorate later on. It is not acceptable to play on a road for five days, and India will want to capitalise on their good start in the absence of their attack spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
“If you think about it, India have had seven pretty good days of Test match cricket this series, yet they’re 1-0 down, and so these next three days are pretty important to them. If the pitch defeats them here, they’ll find it incredible that they go to Lord’s behind in the series.”
India scored a mammoth 587 during their first innings. A huge chunk of the contribution came from the young captain, Shubman Gill, as he scored 269 runs off 387 balls. England currently stand at 77/3, trailing by 510 runs at the end of Day 2. Speaking on the bowling conditions and the match, Hussain commented:
“So far, it’s been classic Test match cricket on an incredibly flat pitch, although England clearly expected more movement, because aside from an hour on Thursday, during Chris Woakes’s first spell, the ball did nothing. The statistics told you it swung less, it seamed less, bounced less, and the surface was slower than its Headingley equivalent.
It shows that England read the conditions slightly wrong in bowling first, yet you have to accept that chasing here at Edgbaston has been the way to go – remember they knocked off 378 just three wickets down when India were last here three years ago.”
India, as stated, have already lost the series opener and now face a tough test at the Edgbaston in Birmingham where they are yet to register a win. Therefore, it will be imperative for India to snap the losing streak, and take control of the series. England will be looking forward to remaining in the driver’s seat, as a second victory will provide them with a massive psychological boost over India heading into the third Test.
- Location :
Birmingham, England (UK)
- First Published:
