With Virat Kohli missing the IND vs ENG 1st Test, the onus was on Rohit Sharma to shoulder the batting responsibility. But he could only score 24 and 39 in two innings in Hyderabad as India crumbled to a 28-run loss to England. Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott slammed India skipper, saying he is “past his prime” for his twin failure. He added that India missed Virat Kohli the leader.
“India badly missed Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja has a hamstring injury and will not play the second Test. Their captain Rohit Sharma is nearly 37 and past his best. He makes pretty cameos but has scored only two Test hundreds at home in four years. They are also weak in the field. They dropped Ollie Pope on 110 and that cost them 86 runs. It lost them the match,” Geoffrey Boycott wrote in his column in The Telegraph.
To be fair to Geoffrey Boycott, Rohit Sharma has only averaged 35.90 in the last two years at home in Test. In the last 11 innings, he has only one century even though his home average is 64.53 in Test.
“Kohli is their talisman. He is a magnificent batsman who averages 60 on Indian pitches. But he also gives them great energy in the field. He is a big loss and England must make the most of it before he comes back for the third Test,” Geoffrey Boycott wrote.
Golden chance for England
Now that England lead 1-0 in the five-match Test series, Geoffrey Boycott believes this is their best chance to win in India. England are the last team to beat India in India in the last 12 years.
“The Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel looked a pale shadow of themselves on a spin-friendly but not exactly dust bowl of a Hyderabad wicket. The English batters came out with a perfect tactical ploy, using sweeps and reverse sweeps to great effect to counter the threat.
Indian spinner duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja conceded 413 runs combined. Ollie Pope who was coming back from an injury scored a sublime 196 runs in the second innings. India despite taking a 190-run lead, lost the match by 28 runs. Rohit Sharma & Co failed to chase 231 runs in Hyderabad.
“England bamboozled India with their sweeps and reverse sweeps and to lose after taking a 190-run lead will be mind-blowing for India. It has never happened to them before on their own pitches where they thought they were invincible,” Geoffrey Boycott wrote.
Rohit Sharma & Co will now face England in Vizag and will aim to bounce back. Virat Kohli remains missing while KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja both miss out with injuries.
“Once in a while a team are in the right place at the right time to clinch a big series win and England could be in that position right now in India. India are due a (series) defeat at home, the signs are good as they have lost Kohli, Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant and are playing opponents full of confidence after a remarkable win. England must take this rare opportunity,” Boycott further wrote.
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