“You have to question the batting” - Stuart Broad feels India did not play the conditions well
Veteran England pacer Stuart Broad reckons that India’s batting on Day 1 at Headingley wasn’t up to the mark. According to the fast bowler, the visitors played loose shots and lost too many wickets in clusters.
Following the high of Lord’s, India had a horror Day 1 at Headingley on Wednesday. Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Virat Kohli’s men were all out for a measly 78 in 40.4 overs. India lost in-form opener KL Rahul for a duck in the first over and never recovered from the poor start.
Sharing his views in an Instagram story, Broad questioned India’s batting approach.
“Of course when a team is bowled out for under 100, you have to question the batting. Loose shots, wickets in clusters, not playing the conditions well enough,” wrote Broad.
In the same post, he also hailed England’s bowlers for never allowing India to get into any sort of rhythm. Broad further wrote:
“But the bowlers applied great pressure and didn’t give away any free runs. And then, when the wickets came, the scoreboard hadn’t moved.”
James Anderson, who got England off to the perfect start by claiming the first three Indian wickets, admitted after the opening day’s play that the side was keen to make a strong comeback after their defeat at Lord’s. The 39-year-old told BBC's Test Match Special:
“We had a really low week at Lord's, certainly the last day, but we had a good few days off to let that pass and concentrate on good things we did. We played well for four days there and came here hungry and ready to show fight. We did that with the ball, the whole attack did really well. Then the two guys with the bat showed so much skill and fight. We knew it's an important Test so wanted to start well.”
Stuart Broad questioned India’s decision to bat first
Earlier on Wednesday (August 25), Stuart Broad also raised questions over Kohli’s decision to bat first at Headingley. Hinting that India had probably made the wrong decision, Broad, who was ruled out of the series due to injury, wrote on Twitter:
“Brave call from India to bat first, it’s the best Day 1 ground to bowl at in the country IMO. Pitch will get better & better. Won’t be much in it for the seamers from Day 3 onwards.”
After cleaning up India for 78, England openers Rory Burns (52*) and Haseeb Hameed (60*) featured in an unbroken 120-run stand as the hosts went to stumps with a lead of 42 runs.