"India remain favorites and should win Test series against England handsomely" - Michael Holding
Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has opined that Team India should win the ongoing Test series against England by a handsome margin.
In an interview with Mid-Day today, Holding gave his views on the ongoing five-Test series between India and England. The first Test of the series ended in a stalemate at Trent Bridge, with the second Test scheduled to begin tomorrow at Lord's.
Holding, who is a member of the commentary panel for the India vs England Test series, believes Virat Kohli and his men are the favorites to win.
“India started the series as favorites, and they remain favorites. India should win the series handsomely,” Holding said.
Fans should note that India have not won a Test series on English soil since 2007. They lost by scorelines of 0-4, 1-3 and 1-4 in the last three Test series against England away from home.
Michael Holding explains why India are the outright favorites to win
Michael Holding gave his explanation on why the visitors are the favorites to win the ongoing Test series in England. He believes that playing in the ICC World Test Championship Final against New Zealand in June would have helped India adjust to the conditions.
Holding added that the Indian pacers would perform well enough in the English conditions to give their team a series victory.
"I find no reason why India cannot win the series. They have already acclimatised with the conditions [the team have been in the UK since June for the WTC final].
"India are looking good with Jasprit Bumrah returning to form. Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj look promising. Mohammed Shami is an experienced campaigner. I am sure the Indian pacers will be able to utilise the English conditions well,” Holding explained.
The second Test of the India vs England series begins tomorrow at 11:00 AM Local Time (3:30 PM IST) in London. It will be interesting to see which team takes the lead in the series.