Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Batting line-up worst I have seen!
INDIA LEGEND LASHES ENGLAND
EXCLUSIVE
IT will take something special for England to claw back the 1-0 deficit in the Test series against India.
And Indian legend Farokh Engineer believes the hosts could be about to experience the kind of humiliation dished out by the Aussies in the 1990s.
England fell one behind in the series at Lord’s on Monday, as India’s tailenders first thwarted ambitions of a home victory then turned the tables during two painful afternoon sessions, that ended with England skittled out and India winning by 151 runs.
Now playing catch-up against Virat Kohli’s side, the odds are heavily stacked against England turning their fortunes around in the five-Test series with three left to play.
And the finger is being pointed squarely at England’s misfiring batting line-up.
“England’s batting is so brittle,” said Engineer (right), who won 46 Test caps for India and played in their first win on English soil back in 1971.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an England batting side look so vulnerable.
“They are clearly missing Ben Stokes, but there is so much pressure on Joe Root, who has been in magnificent form all year.
“India’s bowlers are very good, they are world class-performers. They have the best spinner in the world in Ravichandran Ashwin, and he can’t even get in the side at the moment.
“India are superior in just about every department.
“I would be very surprised if India don’t go on to win this series three- or four-nil. They should have won the first Test as well. But England had a great chance of winning this second Test, that’s the irony of it.
“The wicket was still good to bat on but, apart from Root and maybe Jonny Bairstow, you just can’t see where the runs are going to come from.
“I’m glad they have brought in Dawid Malan because they needed a change.
“But he is coming into the Test side straight from playing in The Hundred – that’s asking a lot of him.”
Going into the final day last Monday, England would have fancied their chances of taking an unlikely 1-0 lead in the series. And when Rishabh Pant was dismissed early that morning, the smart money would have been on that happening.
Instead, what followed had England supporters tearing their hair out.
Engineer believes the bowling tactics against India’s tailenders backfired in spectacular fashion as Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah put on 89 in just 20 overs to take the game away from the hosts.
“Whose idea was it to bombard them with bouncers?” asked 83-year-old Engineer.
“They got a few shots away and then got going. They chanced their arm – and precious runs were just piling up.
“It just didn’t make any sense. The bowling tactics went horribly wrong.
“When lower-order batsmen get runs, they get momentum – and you saw that, when it was India’s turn to bowl again.
“It is going to take a Herculean effort for England to turn this series around.”