Geoffrey Boycott: India deserve the thrashing they are getting
Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has hit out at the Indian team for their dismal performance in the second Test at Lord's. The veteran, who enjoyed a terrific career both as a player and as a commentator, described the Indian team's batting as nothing short of naive and irresponsible display.
The greatest living Yorkshireman even mentioned that the Men in Blue deserve the thrashing they are getting at the moment.
The veteran, who amassed a staggering 8114 runs at an average of 47.72 in the 108 Tests he played for England, said:
"India have come to England complacently and arrogantly thinking they can bat the same way and everything will be OK on the day. Any time you do not plan and work at your cricket, the game will kick you up the backside, and India deserve the thrashing they are getting. So far, the Indian players have let themselves and their supporters down. The batting has been so naive and irresponsible, it has bordered on stupidity. Wafting drives at tempting outswingers is thoughtless."
The Indian team is under deep water
While Kohli's men tried to deliver a tough fight in the first Test at Edgbaston, their crumbling performance in the second game completely sealed away their chances for a series win.
For a team which possesses players with the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul, it came as a total shock when they failed to put up a competitive total at the Mecca of cricket.
Vijay, the leading run-scorer for India on their tour of England in 2014, seems to have lost his mojo on in the ongoing series. With scores of 20,6,0,0 in the four innings played against the Englishmen, his presence into the playing XI for the third Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham remains a big question.
KL Rahul, who was expected to don a significant role in the Test series, had scores of 8 and 10 in the game at Lord's. In fact, he couldn't deliver a solid performance in the first game as well, and amassed paltry totals of 4 and 13 in a contest which could have brought a smile on the faces of Indian fanatics.
What shook the Indian fans to the core would have been the strokes exhibited by the vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.
The man behind India's historic win at Lord's in 2014 England series, could only score a mere 18 and 13 at the prestigious venue.
As a matter of fact, if he could have stayed in the middle for good 10-15 overs in the 4th innings of the first Test at Edgbaston, the outcome would have surely landed in the laps of the Indian team. But, as luck would have it, he got dismissed for a disappointing 2 runs off 16 deliveries to the English all-rounder Sam Curran.
Having lost the first two games of the five-match series, only a miracle can save the Indian team from the clutches of defeat at the hands of the Englishmen.