Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has made some bold predictions about the ongoing five-match test series between India and England. The first game between the two quality sides appears to be evenly balanced at the end of Day 3 play in Hyderabad.
The high-octane match between India and England is likely to have a tense ending due to Ollie Pope’s impressive score of 196, which puts England on 420. India now needs 231 runs to win at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Jasprit Bumrah was India’s standout bowler, taking four wickets.
Apart from Pope, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, and Zak Crawley made valuable contributions with the bat, alongside lower-order batters Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets, while Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja also made some crucial strikes for the side in the second innings.
Speaking to the media, former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly sounded confident about India winning the series in a dominating fashion on home soil. He feels that the Ben Stokes-led side could have challenged the Indian team if they had scored more runs in the first innings and also spoke about how tough it is to beat the Indian team on their home soil.
“India will win the series, the matter is whether they will win it 4-0 or 5-0. Every Test will be decisive. England could have won this Test match had they batted well. One cannot win against India by making 230 or 240 runs on Indian soil. Had they made 350 or 400, they could have beaten India, but they weren’t able to do that. It’s a tough series for England. Any team other than the Australia of that era could not create any impact here,” Sourav Ganguly said.
The media and fans have referred to England’s aggressive attitude as “Bazball.” England has had a lot of success with that method, and the team has played a positive brand of cricket against India so far. The Ben Stokes-led side dominated Australia on their home turf in the Ashes 2023 last year. However, “Bazball” will face a big test in the present India vs England Test series in India, where the wickets are more spin-friendly.
The IPL Will Serve As A Preparation For The World Cup – Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly believes that India has a bright chance to win the T20 World Cup in the West Indie and the USA, as the conditions would be quite similar to the one in India, and feels that the Indian Premier League would act as a brilliant preparation to the Indian Players going into the World Cup.
“India is a very good side. There will be another opportunity for India as the conditions in the West Indies and America are like India. The IPL will serve as a preparation for the World Cup,” Sourav Ganguly added.
Despite being a strong force in international cricket across all formats, the Men in Blue have failed to win an ICC trophy in the last decade, despite frequently reaching the semifinals and finals. The Men in Blue will now aspire for glory at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
