IND vs ENG: History Tells That Shaheen Afridi Blew Them Away - Former England Captain On India’s Struggle Against Left-arm Seamers

After beating the hosts by five wickets on Monday, Team India won the ODI series in England for the first time since 2014–15. 

The Men in Blue lost their top-order in what turned out to be a nervous chase at Old Trafford as they attempted to reach a challenging 260-run mark. But with a 133-run stand for the fifth wicket, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant saved the visitors.  

After reaching his first ODI hundred, Pant came back with an unbroken 125 from 113 deliveries, outscoring Pandya’s 55-ball 71. The cricket community praised both players for their outstanding batting performances, which enabled India to win the ODI series 2-1. 

India Need To Learn From The Past And Play Left Arm Pace Bowling A Little Better: Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain, a former England captain, praised India’s depth in a conversation with Sony Sports Network. Hussain responded when asked if Rohit Sharma and company are ready for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. 

“India are a very strong team, but they need to learn from what happened in the past. In the last T20 World Cup in the UAE they were a bit timid with the bat, so they need to stop being that. When you have Pandya and Pant in the middle order and then Jadeja that rope to follow, you don’t need to be timid at the top.”

The former cricketer turned analyst singled out a few instances in which Indian hitters fell victim to left-arm seamers. Hussain referred to India’s matchups with Pakistan from the T20 World Cup 2021 final and the ICC Champions Trophy, saying Rohit Sharma and his team needed to play left-arm pace bowling “a bit better.” 

“They need to play to left arm [pace bowling] a little bit better. History tells you that Shaheen Shah Afridi blew them away one evening in Dubai, Mohammad Amir blew them away one afternoon at the Oval in a final, and Reece Topley has blown them away here [at Old Trafford]. 

“They need to be a bit more tensed to their batting so some of their seamers will come down in a T20, in the last two overs with 20 to win. One of those seamers will need them to get across the line,” Hussain added. 

Virat Kohli Will Be Fine: Nasser Hussain

The former captain of England also discussed Virat Kohli, who hasn’t scored in the previous two years. The latter’s dismal tour of England exposed his weakness—the deliveries that veered away from the off stump—further.

He recorded scores of 11 and 20 across innings in the make-up Test. In two T20Is, he scored a total of 12 runs (1 and 11), while in the remaining two ODIs, he only managed to score 33 runs (16 and 17). 

Hussain predicted that Kohli would be OK after he returned from the vacation, adding that India just needed to participate in the ICC events while they played bilateral matches. 

“They have got fit; they have seamers to die for. Their batting, Virat Kohli will be fine. Once he is out of the break, he will be absolutely fine. They are positioned nicely. They just got to play ICC tournaments just like they play bilateral tournaments,” Hussain concluded. 

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