ENG v IND 2018: "India has best chance to win in Lord's," says Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly

India and England will play their second Test at Lord's on August 9.

Coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli at Lord's | GETTY

India is looking for a fight back in the five-match Test series and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag think they have best chance to clinch a win in Lord's. After India's 31-run loss at Edgbaston team needs a win to get back into the groove before England snatches away the series.

Ganguly, talking about the conditions ahead of the second Test, said, “The weather has improved in London. The playing conditions are perfect for cricket. India has the best chance to bounce back in the series at Lord's."

Speaking to India TV, the former India captain added that the pitch will assist pacers initially, but spinners have a better chance as the game moves on. “The wicket will be favorable for Indian spinners in the later days of the match. The forecast suggests rainfall, so the ball will definitely swing here. The Lord's Test will be a carnival for five days,” he added.

Sehwag doesn't differ from Ganguly's views. He believes this is going to be the most important game for India in this series. “This will be a crucial game for India. England hasn't won a match here for a long time. Recently, Pakistan also defeated them at Lord's. Earlier, India and Sri Lanka have also won Test matches here. It's a great chance for India to make a comeback. If the wicket is helpful to bowlers, India has the best chances to win,” he said.

“If there's grass on the wicket, fast bowlers will be in command on all five days. Indian bowlers will take 20 wickets again. It will be interesting to see whether Indian batsmen manage to match the opponents' total or not,” the former Delhi batsman added.

Sehwag has high hopes from skipper Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, and R Ashwin to give India a much-needed win here. “All three of them performed well in the first Test. The rest of the team will be under tremendous pressure because they know that captain Kohli doesn't play the same team in every match. However, I strongly feel that Virat Kohli might play the same team at Lord's."

Ganguly made an interesting comment ahead of the game. He said India should go with two spinners in this Test. “In Test cricket, no player can make runs in every match. But it is important to make a comeback after a slump in the form. I think India won't make many changes in the playing eleven for the second Test. Rahane and Murali Vijay have scored runs at Lord's before. India might play two spinners here. Kuldeep Yadav can come in place of Umesh Yadav. But I don't see any changes in India's batting line-up,” Ganguly explained. 

Kohli, no doubt, is India's best bet with the bat. He has scored a ton and the cricket pundits think the 29-year-old will carry the momentum.

“Watching his current form, I believe he'll definitely score a hundred at Lord's. I can see that hunger for runs in Virat Kohli. Overcoming the failure he suffered last time in England, Kohli will score many runs this time.” Sehwag said.

Ganguly continued, “If you see his career graph, you'll notice that when he hits a century he continues to score hundreds in consecutive matches.”

As per Sehwag, the other batsman should seek help from Kohli ahead of the game. “The batting unit needs to talk to Virat Kohli, asking for suggestions as he was the only one who scored decent runs in Birmingham,” he concluded.

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 09 Aug, 2018

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