England vs India 2021: Steve Harmison Compares The Current Indian Team To The Great Australian Era

Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison rated India’s performance on day five very highly and heaped praises on India’s ability to thrive under pressure on many occasions. England certainly had the edge at stumps on Day four and there was a slight bother in the Indian dressing room if the target set wasn’t good enough on the Oval pitch.

But the Indian bowlers came out all guns blazing when the pressure was mounting on them and bowled some amazing spells which made sure India surged ahead. In the end, they managed to get things done with more than 40 overs to go in the day and dismissed England for 210 in the fourth innings to win the Test by 157 runs.

Steve Harmison Explains India’s Ability To Keep Going

Steve Harmison mentioned that teams tend to start wearing out on day five and they look like they do not have gas on the tank which hasn’t been the case for India. He lauded India for not giving up despite being under pressure on day five and added that IPL has largely helped the Indian players to thrive under pressure situations.

“In the pressure situation that India find themselves on Day five, they keep going and they keep asking questions of the opposition. Sometimes on day five, you are tired, and when you play constantly under that sort of pressure with what Indian players do in IPL and stuff like that, then all off a sudden you can break a team down”, Steve Harmison told on ESPN Cricinfo.

Steve Harmison Highlights The Importance Of Breaking Down Opponents

Steve Harmison mentioned that the current Indian team has been playing like the great Australian side in the mid-2000s who used to break down teams on day five with immense skill levels. He added that they get the teams to a point of submission by breaking down.

“The great Australian side, me and VVS(Laxman) played against, they broke you down on day five. That’s when their skill levels came out and they won the game then. I think this Indian team is turning into that. They break teams down, get them to a point of submission. Because they are so used to bowling or batting under pressure, then their skill sets come out in the end,” He added.

India has taken a 2-1 lead in the series with one test to go and they cannot lose the series from here which is already an achievement.

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