Former England captain Michael Atherton believes England will be favorites against India after registering a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Rohit Sharma’s Indian team in the first Test of the five-match Test series. . Ben Stokes’ side dominated their opponents with their red-ball cricket, regardless of the circumstances.
England have a great chance to become the first team in 12 years to defeat India in a Test series on home soil after winning the Hyderabad Test by 28 runs. Given the stunning come-from-behind victory, Ben Stokes and his team will be hoping to establish themselves as more than just a team touring India and as favorites to win the series.
In a column for The Times, Michael Atherton said that winning the first Test against England would have a psychological impact on Ben Stokes’ side, who lost in the first two days. I think it will give. He believes England have a great chance to extend their lead in the five-match series. Atherton also believes that the absence of Virat, his Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul will have a major impact on the balance of his team in India.
“Such a result is very unexpected and incredible considering the situation of both teams after the first innings, especially two of India’s key players, Ravindra Jadeja. It must have had a huge psychological impact considering his rapid recovery and injury,” said KL Rahul. England have a big chance to extend their lead. ”
“Not only are India losing 1-0, but they also face rare uncertainty about the form and balance of their team. Suddenly there are so many potential weaknesses. Yes, Jadeja is India’s second most important cricketer after Virat Kohli. He (Jadeja) has excelled as an all-rounder and he ranks highest in terms of difference between batting and bowling averages. , which gives us great balance in the team,” said Michael Atherton.
England were already leading 1-0 in 2021 but lost their next three matches due to continued chaos at crowded venues, especially Chennai and Ahmedabad. However, the swirling course may not give India as much of an advantage as it did on recent tours, with Buzzball’s bolder approach and better improvement in dealing with spin in 2021 and beyond being a concern.
All The Problems Lie With India – Michael Atherton
Michael Atherton believes Ravindra Jadeja’s absence will create a big gap in the batting and bowling departments of the Indian cricket team. This is evident from the selection of the team, where Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar were chosen as his replacements. However, both can only provide one-dimensional skills to the team.
“Washington Sundar, the off-spinning all-rounder who was called up to the team this week, has weakened the bowling. Saurabh Kumar, the left-arm all-rounder, has weakened his shots, and Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist It also weakens the rotation. All the problems are with India,” added Michael Atherton.
In the second match, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the star of the day. He achieved his second Test century and remained unbeaten on 179, taking India to 336/6 at stumps on his opening day. Jaiswal formed a vital partnership with Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Patidar and Axar Patel, holding one end while wickets fell at the other. Unfortunately, all the Indian batsmen missed starts.
