Former England captain Nasser Hussain has sharply criticised India’s bowling performance and tactical decisions after the second day’s play in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, where the visitors failed to execute their strategies despite a valiant effort from Rishabh Pant.
Pant, returning to the crease after retiring hurt on 37 due to a toe injury, battled through pain to score a fighting 54 off 75 deliveries. His innings helped India post a total of 358, giving their bowlers a strong platform to work with.
ENG vs IND, 4th TEST DAY 2 SCORECARD | HIGHLIGHTS
However, India’s attack failed to deliver, with inconsistent lines and a lack of discipline allowing England to dominate. Hussain took particular issue with the team’s decision to hand the new ball to debutant Anshul Kamboj ahead of seasoned pacer Mohammed Siraj.
“Slightly changing conditions, but they bowled very poorly. A change in overhead conditions doesn’t make you bowl both sides of the wicket. Too many balls on the pads. Captain’s decisions didn’t quite agree with, to be honest. Kamboj wasn’t in the squad a week ago, to bring him into the team and give him a new ball ahead of Siraj seems odd,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
“I would’ve gone for Siraj for a short burst, then switched him to the other end to follow Bumrah. We’ve all been talking about the green channel on the strip across this is the end where (Ben) Stokes bowled and got his fifer, and got uneven bounce and sideways movement. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong,” Hussain said.
“Rishabh Pant went out there on one leg, and got valuable runs today. They’ve just handed those runs back to England,” Hussain added.
Crawley and Duckett’s 166run stand in just 32 overs have put England in command in Manchester. By stumps, England stood strong at 225 for two, trimming India’s first-innings lead to just 133 runs and firmly positioning themselves in the contest after a dominant batting display.
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