ENG vs IND: Michael Atherton Suggests Team India The Only Way To Level The Series
Former England skipper Michael Atherton revealed a special strategy for Team India to level the series at Old Trafford, Manchester. The fourth Test between England and India will commence on July 23 at Manchester, where Shubman Gill & Co. will be going after a tragic loss at Lord's, and on the other hand, Ben Stokes & Co. will make their way to the next Test with a win.
India lost the Lord's Test by a margin of just 22 runs, which made England lead in the series by 2-1. In the last test, Ravindra Jadeja stood like a great wall for the team when the top order failed to perform in the second innings, and Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj gave their best in helping Jadeja from the other end. But at the end, destiny had other plans for Team India.
As it was already announced before the start of the five-match Test series that ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah will be playing only three tests due to workload management. So now there are various reports that he might or might not play the fourth Test at Manchester, where currently India is lacking behind in the series. To this, many questions are being raised on Bumrah and team management for letting him choose the games he wants to play.
"Wrist spin goes well........" - Michael Atherton
Ex-England cricketer Atherton suggested that India should bring a left-arm wrist spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, for the spin-friendly pitches at the Old Trafford surface. He said,
"In the middle, where the televised pitches are, I said, just flat, flat, flat. You know wrist spin goes well at Old Trafford in those circumstances. So I was wondering whether they could go like Bumrah and Siraj and then play their three spinners—Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav."
Further, he said that weather could play a big role in the game between both the teams in a do-or-die match.
He said,
"You don't know about the forecast in Manchester; that's the other thing. If it's going to be cooler and showery, and whether the fast bowlers come into it—but I think that's a definite option India should think about."
Can India level up the series at Manchester?
Team India hasn't used Kuldeep Yadav in three tests so far; now there are chances that they can come up with him for the Manchester test. Despite Jasprit Bumrah's seven-wicket spell and KL Rahul's incredible hundred, they failed to chase 193 runs on the final day at Lord's.
Previously, in the second test, India recorded their historic win at Edgbaston, where no other team had ever won, and had leveled the series. Now they have a chance to level the series once again by winning the fourth test at Manchester.