Former Indian captain Anil Kumble has criticized England for not taking the opportunity to pit Joe Root against young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal on the first day of the Hyderabad test. The Left-handed opener led India’s attack with the bat in the first innings, producing a quickfire half-century on the opening day.
Jaiswal scored his first Test half-century at home, helping India finish ahead of the visitors. After England were bowled out for 246 in the first innings, opener Jaiswal led India to 119-1 in just 23 overs on the first day. The 22-year-old hammered 76 runs from 70 balls to help India reduce the lead to 127 runs behind England.
After the day’s play in Hyderabad, Anil Kumble questioned why England declined to bowl Joe Root as a bowler against Yashasvi Jaiswal on Day 1 of the series opener. He also highlighted Ravichandran Ashwin’s effectiveness against left-handers.
“I thought England missed a trick by not using Joe Root because he’s someone you can really turn the ball, and he has a good action. And there was Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is a left-hander, and we saw Ashwin trouble the left-handers. So England probably missed a trick,” Anil Kumble said.
The young opener demonstrated his prowess in the longer format on his Test debut, scoring 171 runs against the West Indies in July last year. Jaiswal had accumulated 2161 runs at an exceptional average of 72.03 in 19 first-class games before the series against England.
England Spinners Need To Be A Lot More Consistent – Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble believes that England bowlers are inconsistent on their line on a surface that aided the bowlers on the opening day. He cited the example of Indian spinners, who troubled England batters with consistent bowling throughout the innings, and stated that England’s spin bowling department lacked experience.
“I think it’s one, the length. I mean, they are not consistent at all on a surface where it’s assisting you a bit. We saw that with the Indian spinners. As soon as they bowled a good length, it was turning, so they got the lengths wrong.
“And then, when you want to spin, I mean first, is confidence. Hartley is playing his first game, Leach hasn’t really played in a while, and then he’s coming in. But if they have to come back in this game, the spinners need to be a lot more consistent,” Anil Kumble added.
In comparison to their Indian counterparts, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, England’s spin bowlers Jack Leach, Tom Hartley, and Rehan Ahmed failed to make an impact on the surface that suited the spin bowling. Ben Stokes-led side would be keen on coming good on the second day to give them a real chance to make a comeback into the match.
