Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he “can't see too many positives” about India in the ongoing four-match Test series against England after their massive defeat in the first Test in Chennai.
He further said that the hosts weren’t “willing to do the hard yards in the first innings” and that’s where they lost the game in Chennai.
He further pointed out it rarely happens when Indians failed to score a hundred in a Test match in the home conditions and that’s the prime reason behind Team India’s massive 227-run defeat in the first Test in Chennai on Tuesday (February 9).
The former cricketer-turned-commentator also said neither the India bowlers nor the batsmen were consistent throughout the first Test match against England, however, said Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara’s form is a good sign for the hosts in the ongoing Test series.
Vaughan said on Cricbuzz: “Can't see too many positives when not one India batsman gets a 100 in home conditions throughout the Test match. I can't remember the last time that happened. Virat finally got a bit of rhythm, which is good for him and the team.”
He continued, “Rishabh Pant in the first innings... Shubman Gill, I keep saying he is going to be the next superstar in world Test match cricket. Pujara looked good in the first innings. It really comes down to getting disciplines right for a longer period, that's what India didn't have this week.
Whether it was with the ball in hand... were they consistent enough or long enough on a good wicket, and with the bat, they weren't willing to do the hard yards in the first innings.
You think the last four cheap wickets, not great shots in the first innings, which really set up the confidence levels of the England side. In the first innings, for India to get 337 that's not enough. They should have got to 450.
That would have been game, set and the match could have got out of here with a draw. But they got bowled out so cheaply, that's enough for an Indian batting line-up.”
Vaughan signed off by saying, “In the second innings, with the pitch doing what it did, it was always going to be difficult but it's that first inning, in particular, that top five, for the highest score to be 73 on a pitch that was still playing flat, that's not good enough for an Indian side.”
The second Test begins on February 13 onwards in Chennai itself.
