Alastair Cook attributed India’s cautious approach at the tail-end of their batting innings to “the fear of Bazball”, with England needing a record run-chase to claim a 2-0 Test series lead.
India established a dominant position in the first three days, taking a lead of 143 runs as they reached 211-4 and a century from Shubman Gill helped them push the target to over 350 runs. I did. But from that point on, India collapsed. Ben Stokes lured Gill into a reverse sweep and was praised for his performance as captain, from which India lost their last six wickets for 44 runs.
The approach of Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah in their partnership was particularly noteworthy. The pair added 26 runs in 12 overs as India went on to win, with Ashwin hitting 29 off 61 and Bumrah for a 26-ball duck. England offered individual attacks and moved up the pitch to involve Ashwin in the attack, but there were few active batting attempts.
Cook said in TNT Sports‘s series coverage that this was due to England’s success in the chase led by Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Since the start of his tenure, England have completed five chases of 250 or more, being bowled out in chases of 256 (258) against New Zealand and 327 (371) against Australia.
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Most notably, they casually achieved a national record of 378 against India at Edgbaston in 2022, leading to a 2-2 draw in the postponed series and seven wickets in 80 overs. He was several centuries ahead of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, who won by a margin of . compared to last year. With the exception of his subsequent one-run win in New Zealand, each of those games saw him perform below average through the third innings.
“It seems like we can understand a little bit of the fear of Buzz Ball,” Cook said. “They were leading by 400 points but Ashwin stopped them in the last 30 minutes. It was as if every point mattered so much.” You would have liked to have played against a team that he led in 2009, and even better. The Indian team chased this ball around the park and tried to go bowling. There is just something on that side that is causing a bit of confusion in the opposition and India is very cautious about it. It’s very, very unlikely that England will chase 400 on the subcontinent by the fourth innings, but they just know that when Crawley gets going, Stokes gets going, Root gets going, and that’s what’s happened to them in the past. Thing. ”
Cook also speculated that India’s poor form, which has not won at home in the last three Tests, could be a factor. “Maybe there’s a little bit of confidence in this Indian team. They’re not playing their best cricket, so they’re just giving themselves a little extra protection.”
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