India vs England 2021: I Don’t Expect India Seamers To Do Much Better Then England Did - Michael Holding

Former West Indies speedster Michael Holding isn’t expecting the Indian pacers to make much trouble for the England batters on Day 5 of the Oval Test.

He underpinned his observations on the flat, benign surface, on which the England seamers also struggled against the Indian batsmen on Days 3 and 4; even the tailenders were playing their shots freely.

India set a target of 368 runs and England ended Day 4 on a positive note at 77/0. Indian bowlers looked barely threatening during the 32 overs they bowled in the third session, with the pitch remaining an absolute belter for a Day 4 surface.

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“I don’t really see this pitch playing too many tricks. I didn’t see the England seamers create too many problems and the India seamers I don’t expect to do much better,” Michael Holding told Sky Sports.

I would have preferred Ashwin: Michael Holding

Ravindra Jadeja will have everyone’s attention on Day 5, as he would be expected to make use of the footmarks and the rough patches – which skipper Virat Kohli had mentioned at the toss as one of the reasons to have the left-arm spinner as the lone spinner.

Michael Holding, however, said he would have rather have Ravichandran Ashwin in the side as far as spin-bowling is concerned. The debate is going to spark up even further if Jadeja is not able to ride India to a victory at the Oval with his bowling.

“And Jadeja, I don’t know. I would have preferred Ashwin if you’re talking about just the bowling,” the commentator added.

Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur has got the wicket of Rory Burns, after the left-hander raised his fifty. Haseeb Hameed then also notched up another half-century. At the time of writing, the hosts require 259 more runs, while the visitors need to hunt 9 more wickets to take a series lead.

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