"I am not in 100% agreement" - Ashish Nehra on Sourav Ganguly suggesting that India are far ahead of the rest
Ashish Nehra does not entirely concur with Sourav Ganguly's view that Team India are far ahead of the rest of the teams in international cricket.
The Indian team thrashed England by 157 runs in the Oval Test to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Sourav Ganguly posted a tweet after the win stating that Team India are head and shoulders above the other sides.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, Ashish Nehra did not totally agree with his former skipper's opinion. He said:
"You spoke about Sourav Ganguly's tweet that they have absorbed pressure very well but the Indian team way ahead of the rest. There, I am not in 100% agreement."
The former India pacer believes that New Zealand are at par with the Virat Kohli-led side. Ashish Nehra reasoned:
"If you go just by the numbers, the New Zealand team has defeated you when you talk about the WTC. Just like it is his thinking, I believe that they are ahead but along with them, when you talk about Test cricket for the last one to one-and-a-half years, the Indian and New Zealand team are neck to neck."
Team India have certainly bounced back brilliantly after suffering reversals. However, they are definitely not the sole dominating force in world cricket and were found wanting against the Kiwi side in the World Test Championship final.
"The Indian team has handled pressure a lot better than the English team" - Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra did agree that the Indian team have performed better than England when put under pressure. He elaborated:
"When you talk about the Indian team, whether you talk about the bowling or batting, there has been a lot of up and down in the last one to one-and-a-half years but whenever it has come to handle pressure away from home, the Indian team has done it a lot better than the English team."
While acknowledging that England have been hit hard by the unavailability of some of their key players, the 42-year-old highlighted that the Joe Root-led side have not enjoyed a great run at home. Ashish Nehra explained:
"England is also a good team, a lot of their players are injured as well but they lost to New Zealand also at home and drew the Ashes 2-2. So England is not going on winning at home. I will say New Zealand is the one team that is very close to the Indian team, whether it is the white ball or the red ball."
Both England and India have been let down lately by inconsistencies in their batting lineup.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have been more consistent in the batting department, although they have also struggled in spin-friendly conditions.