Former England captain Nasser Hussain suggested the England batters adjust to the conditions and capitalize on their chances in the fourth Test against India, starting on February 23 in Ranchi.
The Ben Stokes-led England cricket team started their India tour with a thrilling 28-run win in the five-match Test series opener in Hyderabad. But then, the tourists lost the plot and suffered significant defeats by margins of 106 and 434 runs in the second and third Tests, respectively.
Nasser Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail: “You can't just fall back on the old 'this is the way we play' mantra, because Test cricket is all about adapting to conditions - especially in India, where the nature of the pitch can change almost overnight during a five-day Test.”
He further added, “If you get in, you need to make it count. Look at the first three Tests: England won the first after Ollie Pope's magnificent 196 before India hit back with successive double-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and 131 from Rohit Sharma.”
Hussain also recalled England's use of the short-ball tactic in last year's Ashes, as the former captain wants the tourists to take a leaf out of that strategy to make a return in the Test series against India.
The commentator noted, “They've done it before. Think back to the Ashes, where they became better at playing the short ball after that hook-happy collapse at Lord's. Bazball, as they keep telling us, is about smart cricket, not headless cricket. They need to prove that point again now.”
Hussain mentioned that there's potential for Jonny Bairstow to be a threat to India in the Ranchi Test if he manages to navigate through the initial phase of his innings smoothly. Bairstow has been going through a rough patch, scoring only 102 runs in the first three Tests at an average of 17.
He signed off by saying, “For Bairstow, the key - as it is for so many visiting batters in India - is to get through those first 20-30 balls when it's turning and Ravindra Jadeja is spearing them into your pads, making it tough to sweep. If he can do that, he can be destructive, but he has to give himself a chance. Perhaps the fact that he has a point to prove will bring out the best in him.”
(With PTI Inputs)
