Former England cricketer David Lloyd said that, unlike India who counterattacks like tigers when cornered, the home team captained by Joe Root are too nicey-dicey and are unable to push themselves into a position of advantage.
India has won two Test matches in this five-match series and both have come when Virat Kohli and co. were pushed back by England, but they managed to bounce back. First, at the Lord’s, India was struggling at day 5 to put on runs on the board, when Bumrah-Shami added 89* runs, and then India bowled out England inside 60 overs to win by 151 runs.
In the next Test in Leeds, India was bowled out for 78 on day one and lost the Test by an innings. They also found themselves in trouble in Oval as well after putting just 191 in 1st innings. However, they kept England to a lead of 99 runs and then posted a huge total in the second innings and bowled England out with overs to spare on Day five to go 2-1 up.
"They have to revamp the performance and spirit of the team. There's a real toughness about India that's absent from England. When India are in a corner they're like tigers, but England are too nicey-nicey. And if they're up against the ropes, India don't half come out fighting,” David Lloyd wrote in DailyMail.
India's game plan, fueled by aggression and a mentality to win at all costs, has been evident on multiple occasions in the recent past. They did the same in MCG after being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide.
Even in the ongoing series, they have been on the back foot for a significant amount of time before striking back and emerging victorious.
David Lloyd further praised the Indian team saying that how India has the luxury of dropping a world-class player like Ravichandran Ashwin from the team and still win.
He said: “They are the best Test team in the world. There's quality all the way through with people like Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav coming in and doing a fantastic job. I'll tell you how good they are: they're that good they can choose to leave Ravichandran Ashwin out."
(Daily Mail inputs)
