England to whitewash India 5-0 in the Test series claims Monty Panesar

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has made a bold prediction following the visiting team’s impressive victory over India in Hyderabad. Monty Panesar highlighted that the Ben Stokes-led team could ‘whitewash’ the India team in the ongoing five-match Test series.

England secured a 28-run victory over the home team during the series opener. The Three Lions bounced back despite conceding a 190-run lead to the opposition in the first innings. They bowled out the Men in Blue for 202 runs in the final innings of the first Test match.

It Will Be 5-0 For England – Monty Panesar

In an interaction with ANI, Monty Panesar expressed confidence that England can achieve a 5-0 whitewash against India if Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley maintain their impressive form. Panesar mentioned that Rohit Sharma seemed clueless during the match.

“If Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley continue to play like this it will be a whitewash, it will be 5-0 for England. It can happen. It is a very big victory, no one even imagined this was even possible. Everyone thought that England would lose after a 190 deficit but Ollie Pope had a brilliant inning one of the best innings we have seen in a long time and Rohit Sharma was clueless,” Monty Panesar told ANI.

Ollie Pope was instrumental in England setting a 231-run target for the Indian team in the recent match. Pope scored 190 runs off 278 deliveries, including 21 fours. He added key partnerships with lower-order batters, as the team scored 257 runs after the fifth wicket.

Tom Hartley struggled with just two wickets for 131 runs in 25 overs during the first innings. However, Hartley excelled in the final innings, taking seven wickets for 62 runs. The left-arm spinner played a key role in England securing a 1-0 lead in the ongoing series.

The second Test match is scheduled to be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA stadium in Visakhapatnam, starting on Friday, February 2.

Mark Waugh also made similar statements after India were bowled out for 36 in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Adelaide. Waugh predicted a whitewash for Australia, expressing doubts about India’s ability to bounce back after the defeat.

“I thought Adelaide was the Test that they could win on paper and with Virat Kohli here for just the one Test. I thought the conditions would suit them. I just can’t see how they can bounce back (after) Australia whitewashed them on the third day. So ‘no’ is the answer four-nil to Australia,” Waugh had told Fox Cricket.

However, the Indian team made a remarkable turnaround as they defeated Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The visiting team secured a heroic draw at Sydney before conquering the formidable fortress of Gabba in the fourth and final Test match.

In the subsequent 4-Test series against England, India faced a setback with a 227-run defeat in the first Test. However, India secured victories in the remaining three Test matches to clinch the series with a margin of 3-1.

Also read: “If Virat Kohli was playing he would’ve..”- Monty Panesar drops colossal verdict