Former bowler Chetan Sharma has backed Team India to bounce back and win the ongoing five-match Test series against England. The hosts are currently trailing after suffering an embarrassing loss in the first Test in Hyderabad last week.
More than the defeat, it is the nature of the defeat that has left many concerned. India ended up losing the game even after thoroughly dominating the first innings. They had a big lead of 190 runs after the first innings and had England reeling at 163 for 5 in the second innings but failed to capitalise on the strong position.
Riding on Ollie Pope’s brilliant knock of 196 runs, England went on to score 420 runs to set India a target of 231 runs. In reply, India were bowled out for 202 runs with only captain Rohit Sharma (39) managing to touch the 30-run mark. For England, Tom Hartley starred with the ball on his debut, taking 7 wickets in the second innings with his left-arm spin.
Chetan Sharma backs India to bounce back:
While India’s capitulation in the first Test has left many concerned, Chetan Sharma is not one of the them. The former chief selector believes India will bounce back strongly and will go on to win the series 4-1. He recalled India’s home series against England in 2020/21 season when they lost the first Test but went on to win the four-match series 3-1.
“Koi tension nahi hai, 4-1 karenge (No tension, we’ll make it 4-1). Atithiyo ka Swagat kiya hai hamne, koi problem nahi (We’ve welcomed our guests, there’s no problem). Ek mistake ho jata hay (Sometimes you make a mistake). I won’t call it a mistake, they played well,” Chetan Sharma told India Today.
“Kahin na kahin ham pehla match hare hain (Somewhere we lost the opening match), toh kehte hain ki jo jeeta woh Sikander (there’s a phrase that the one who wins becomes a champion) but it’s not the case here. India have a lot of potential.
“We had also lost the opening Test in Chennai three years ago and then we thrashed them [England] 3-1. Similarly, history will repeat itself and in the next game, Indian team will look completely different. There’ll be aggression and according to me, we are winning the series 4-1,” he added.
Team India will be desperate to bounce back and win the second Test to draw level in the series. The second game is scheduled to be played from Friday (February 2) in Vishakhapatnam.
