"Cannot believe they are going in with such a long tail" - Nasser Hussain slams Team India's batting composition
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has slammed India's abject batting performance on Day 1 of the third Test at Leeds. He said that the visitors entering a Test match on English soil with a long tail was beyond his understanding, while also terming India's batting 'fragile'.
After winning the toss, Virat Kohli and co slumped to 78 all out before England responded with 120-0 by stumps on Day-1. Interestingly, it was the same lineup that beat the hosts by 151 runs in the second Test at Lord's a week ago.
Nevertheless, slamming the visitors for their fragile batting and playing 'four no. 11s', Hussain wrote for dailymail.co.uk:
"I have said India's batting looks fragile, and I still cannot believe they are going into a series in England against a Dukes ball with such a long tail. And that still applies despite what Bumrah and Mohammed Shami did at Lord's."
"Now India are going in with four No 11s. It cannot be the way to go in England — you can always lose a couple of early wickets, as they did on Wednesday, and your No 8 in Shami has to start looking for his pads," he added.
I understand why England got it wrong at Lord's: Nasser Hussain
Hussain, 53, further opined that England lost the Lord's Test because James Anderson's emotions got the better of him following Jasprit Bumrah's attacking bowling. He also praised Joe Root and co. for coming back strongly just a week after their Lord's capitulation:
"I do understand why they got it so wrong in the second Test. It was because their main man in Jimmy Anderson was targeted by Jasprit Bumrah on that third evening, and you have to allow for the emotion that got to them. Here (at Leeds) they corrected it spectacularly," Hussain wrote.
"England and Joe Root got it badly wrong on that fateful final morning at Lord's. But the best thing about their bowling performance on day one was how much they learnt from that mistake," Hussain stated.
The hosts, who are already 42 runs ahead with all ten wickets in hand, will look to eke out a sizeable first-innings lead on the second day, as the pitch has seemingly eased out for batting. India, meanwhile, will look to make early inroads and not let the hosts run away with the match.
If that happens, England's inexperienced middle order could come under pressure, which would make for an interesting game of Test cricket at Headingley, Leeds.