IND vs ENG | Indian lower-order has worked on their batting, made important contribution, reckons Nasser Hussain
After India’s wagging tail once again fought bravely against the English bowlers, Nasser Hussain is of the opinion that the lower order have worked on their batting very well. The last four wickets added 150 runs for India in the second innings of the fourth Test at The Oval on Sunday.
The Indian batsmen dominated the English bowlers in the second innings as they crossed the 400-run mark for the first time in the series. Indian opener Rohit Sharma (127) played brilliantly to score his first overseas century and the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara (61), Rishabh Pant (50), and Shardul Thakur (60) scored crucial half-centuries to help India claim a 368-run lead against the hosts.
Virat Kolhi (44) looked promising with the bat, but he fell short of six runs from scoring his third consecutive half-century in the ongoing Test series. After the Indian skipper walked back to the dressing room, Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur took charge and executed it very well to make a 100-run stand for the seventh wicket. Thakur scored his second half-century in the fourth Test, while Pant made his first fifty in the ongoing series. Later, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah (24) and Umesh Yadav (25) played some good shots to take the team total to 466.
Nasser Hussain stated that the Indian lower order have worked on their batting and they have executed it very well in the ongoing series.
“Whenever the India XI has flashed up at the start of a Test this summer, one of the first thoughts has been the length of their tail. But fair play to them. Their lower order have worked on their batting and on Sunday— for the third time in the series — they made an important contribution,” Hussain wrote in his latest column in Daily Mail.
While speaking about Shardul Thakur’s performance with the bat, the former England cricketer also recalled the 89-run stand between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, which took the game away from England.Â
“First there was Lord’s on the last morning, when Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah put on 89 and took the game away from England. Then, on the first day here, Shardul Thakur helped turn a potential 150 all out into 191, which kept his side in the game.
Hussain reckoned that India witnessed the batting performance of New Zealand lower order in the World Test Championship final and learned a lot from it.
“On Sunday, the last four added 150, with Thakur scoring another half- century, and Bumrah and Umesh Yadav again making useful runs. They saw how New Zealand’s lower order outperformed their own during the World Test Championship final in Southampton, and decided to do something about it. I take my hat off to them,” he added.