India vs England 2021: That Was Old-school Tail-end Batting From India - David Lloyd On India's Lower-order Contribution

Former England cricketer David Lloyd expressed his views on the lower order contributions from India’s tail-enders in the first test and revealed the frustrations as an England fan. The likes of Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj added some invaluable runs to the Indian total at the back end of the Indian first innings.

The lower-order showed a lot of character with Bumrah scoring 28, Shami scoring 13, and Siraj scoring 7. It almost pushed India 50 runs above they should have finished and their hard work in the nets had paid off. Bumrah hit three fours and a six in the innings while Siraj hit a boundary as well.

“There Was More Swinging Than A 60s Suburban Party” – David Lloyd

David Lloyd mentioned that India followed the old-school tail-ender batting who tend to swing hard at the ball without any control over their play. Although from an England perspective, it might look frustrating for David Lloyd, but the fast bowlers stuck around for a good time in the innings for India to a convincing lead in the Test.

“That was old-school tail-end batting from India. Most players can at least bat a bit these days but here we had three guys in Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj having a bit of fun and not really having a clue what they were doing. There was more swinging than a 60s suburban party! Unbelievably frustrating for England as the lead grew,” Lloyd maintained in his column for the Daily Mail.

David Lloyd Heaps Praise On The Indian Openers

David Lloyd was quick to address the performance of the Indian openers, Kl Rahul and Rohit Sharma on the first day and lauded them for their calm and measured approach. He was worried about the England openers not being able to hold a good stand as they were dismissed quickly.

“The performance of India’s openers on the first evening and Wednesday morning was calmness personified. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul stood there properly, picked the bat up properly and addressed the ball properly. What a contrast to England’s. They were abysmal. Again,” Lloyd added.