The opening Test of England’s five-match Test series versus India is scheduled to take place in Hyderabad on Thursday, January 25.
Interestingly, since England was beaten by Alastair Cook-led India in 2012, India has never lost a Test series at home. In front of their home supporters, Rohit Sharma and company will try to maintain India’s supremacy. But under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, England has embraced the ultra-aggressive ‘Bazball’ strategy and achieved remarkable success. Spectators are eager to watch how it performs on Indian fields, which should be favorable for spin bowling.
The World Test Championship (WTC) points that will be at stake when two of the top cricketing nations square off in the next series were discussed by former Indian cricket players.
According to Zaheer Khan, England won’t abandon their Bazball ruse. The renowned left-arm seamer added that the focus will be on the types of pitches that are available during the series.
These days, five-Test series are uncommon to witness. Bazball will continue to be the main focus, and we’ll see if England’s strategy changes. Without a doubt, another topic of conversation will be the types of pitches that we’ll be using. However, both sides will be eager to assert their dominance,” Zaheer stated in a Jio Cinema special program titled Insiders Preview.
On the same program, veteran left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha noted that England plays Bazball cricket in an attempt to obtain a psychological edge. But he believes it will be difficult to pull off the ruse against the caliber of the Indian bowling attack.
“Bazball is a brave cricket game, and England uses this tactic to try and get a psychological advantage. It will be challenging to execute Bazball in India due of the difficulty of facing the Indian spinners, as well as Jasprit Bumrah and the other fast bowlers, according to Ojha.
Parthiv Patel, a former wicketkeeper for India, too shared his thoughts on the upcoming series. The southpaw believes India won’t change their strategy. He believed that in order for visiting teams to succeed in India, they should try several strategies. Parthiv claims that England will find it difficult to apply Bazball in Indian conditions.
“I believe that 5-0 will be the Indian team’s goal. To top the WTC standings, in my opinion, they must win 4-0. India won numerous international Test matches in the previous cycle. India doesn’t need to alter their strategy, in my opinion. The visiting teams are the ones who need to devise new tactics. It remains to be seen if Bazball will fit in this place. India’s spin attack, which features Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar, and Kuldeep, is too good, therefore I don’t think it will work here if the ball spins,” Parthiv remarked.
The 38-year-old made a prediction about the types of surfaces that the two teams may encounter at each of the five locations. Parthiv stated that winning the toss and amassing a large first-inning lead may be two crucial elements for the visitors throughout the series.
Every venue, in my opinion, will have a distinct personality. Similar tunes might be heard in Vizag and Hyderabad. If the wicket is set up well in Rajkot, there could be a lot of runs scored. In Dharamsala, their quick bowlers might be able to gain some assistance. The number of runs scored in the opening innings will matter at every location. It will be vital for them to win the toss as well. It will be extremely tough for them to return if they lose the toss, Parthiv continued.
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