Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad looks at the positives despite India’s loss in the first Test match. The visitors lost the opening Test match of the five-match series between England vs India 2018.
Prasad believes that the form of Virat Kohli, as well as the good performance from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma, augurs well for India. Virat Kohli scored 200 runs in the Test match. However, he was let down by the other batsmen as he didn’t receive support.
India needs to come up with a collective batting effort.
Prasad, after the game in Birmingham, was quoted saying, “Despite the defeat, Kohli’s form and the bowling of R. Ashwin and Ishant Sharma augured well for India. The team needs to keep the belief”.
On the other hand, the Indian bowling continued to impress in the foreign conditions. Ravichandran Ashwin bagged four wickets in the first innings. Furthermore, India’s premier spinner also added another three scalps to his name in the second dig. India’s lanky fast bowler Ishant Sharma was able to get a five-wicket haul in the second innings.
Meanwhile, Venkatesh Prasad went on to add that Indian team is reliant heavily on the shoulders of their skipper Virat Kohli. Thus, the other batsmen must work on their technique to counter the seam and swing movement. Subsequently, the batters must chip in their contribution.
“Particularly when you chase a low total below 200 as at Birmingham, a Sehwag sizzler can make all the difference. He can get the field to spread out which can make things easier for the other batsmen too, In the present Indian team, too many hinges on Virat Kohli. The others should contribute too. They need to get their footwork worked out to counter the swing and seam movement in England.”
Venkatesh Prasad added that when Kohli was batting at one end, other batsmen could have looked to counter-attack England. The former fast bowler said that the quick runs can put the defending team under pressure.
“While Kohli held firm in the Indian second innings at Birmingham, India should have attacked the bowling from another end. While defending low scores, if runs come quickly, the bowling side can panic”.
India will like to bounce back strong in the second Test match of England vs India 2018 series which will take place at Lord’s from 9 August.