Team India continued being superior in the conditions which assisted spin bowlers as they secured the fourth Test against England by an innings and 25 runs. The win in the final Test helped them seal the series 3-1 and book a place in the World Test Championship final.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar was impressed with the Indian team and he said England should have focused more on their batting than the pitch. The England cricket fraternity were not happy with the pitch used for the second and third Tests in the series.
Akhtar called the series defeat embarrassing for England and said they will need to learn how to tackle spin bowling to survive in the sub-continent.
“All in all, it was an embarrassing defeat for the England team, and they have got a reality check in India. But they need to now learn the art of playing spin in the sub-continent well. Not sure, how are they going to lift themselves up from this humiliating defeat and motivate themselves to play better,” Shoaib Akhtar said on his Youtube channel.
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Former England cricketers Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook had criticized the Indian pitches. But Akhtar doesn't feel it was right and he questioned if the pitch was as bad as the Englishmen said it is then how did India go on to score 365, while England failed badly.
“While many might talk about the wickets in the series, but look how India scored 365. They also played on the same wickets, where the England batsmen struggled. If Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar can score runs, why can’t the English.
"With utmost ease, India has beaten England in the series, and sealed a spot in the final of the World Test Championship final,” Akhtar added. England managed to cross 200 runs only once in six innings of the last three Test matches.
Akshar Patel played his maiden Test series and he picked up 27 wickets in only three matches. The left-arm spinner had missed out on the first Test because of an injury right before the match.
Akthar is backing Akshar to become the fastest to 100 Test wickets if he gets more matches to play. The spinner had come into the side in absence of Ravindra Jadeja.
“Not only did he get a suitable wicket to bowl on, but he is an intelligent bowler too. He wouldn’t have given a chance to the English players when the control was in his hands, and that is what he did. If he keeps getting a few series like this, he might just become the fastest bowler to 100 wickets. Having said that, England should have played him better,” he added.
