After losing the first two Tests, India came back strongly to beat England hollow in its own backyard. Everybody knew Virat Kohli’s men would do that and former India cricketer S. Badrinath was one among them.
“It’s a very good comeback considering the beating they got in the second Test. They did not make any big technical changes but showed a positive approach in both batting and bowling. The England bowlers erred a bit in line and length and our batsmen drove home the advantage. The team must build it up from here,” Badrinath told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
He says India had a good chance to win the first Test. “It was a gettable target on the last day and we had a great opportunity to pin England down early. But it was quite unlucky we lost.”
“In the second Test, the conditions were totally against India. It was either drizzling or raining when we batted but sunshine all around when England did. But India could have batted better in both the Tests. They showed a defensive mindset and that reflected on the field,” adds Badrinath, who is now more into broadcasting and coaching.
Karthik pretty unlucky
About Rishab Pant, he says the wicketkeeper-batsman did well in his first appearance. “He took fine catches, scored runs and his approach is very good. He is an attacking batsman and he displayed that in his first Test outing.”
Will that affect senior star Dinesh Karthik’s chances? “Dinesh is a bit unlucky. He had a great chance to prove a point in the first Test. It was a make or break innings for him. If he had got some runs on the last day he would have possibly played the rest of the series,” says Badrinath.
He says Pant has actually taken the pace out of Dinesh. “But he has to improve on his keeping. Maybe he can become better as a keeper but he has certainly affected the chances of Dinesh a bit. In fact, I don’t see Dinesh playing in this Test series again. But then it’s always good to remain positive.”
