"Indian bowlers did not bowl in the right areas" - Danish Kaneria
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria feels the Indian bowlers were far off from their optimum line and length while bowling England's openers on Day 1 of the third Test.
Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed survived the burst by the Indian seamers rather comfortably. They went on to stitch up England's first hundred-run stand for the opening wicket against India in England since 2011.
Kaneria believed that Ishant Sharma did not look in rhythm and singled out Mohammad Shami as the lone bright spot in India's bowling display. While speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:
'England openers got off to a smooth start because the Indian bowlers did not bowl in the right areas. Ishant Sharma could not find any rhythm and kept leaking runs. Mohammad Shami was the only consistent bowler who bowled accurately on line and showed that he can get wickets. Mohammad Siraj was aggressive, but could not get to move the ball as much as the English bowlers,'
The time to search for wickets has ended: Danish Kaneria
Kaneria outlined how India can still potentially bounce back in this fixture. The former leg-spinner claimed the bowlers will have to bowl a tight line diligently to make England work hard for their runs instead of looking for wickets from the word go. Kaneria added:
'India should now be thinking of only bowling corridor. Keep bowling at the top of off stump or the fifth stump and do not allow them to score runs. They should not go for wickets, the time to search for wickets has ended.
The ability of Indian bowlers to set up English batsmen could be key to restricting England's lead to 120-140 runs, believes Kaneria. He added;
Chance will only be created when you bowl to the corridor and make them leave balls. The more they leave the deliveries, the better chance India have of drawing them into a mistake. If England get a lead of 120-140, Indian batsmen really need to come hard on England bowlers,'
The Indian seamers endured a rough afternoon and ended wicketless after bowling 42 overs. Ravindra Jadeja also had a say-in with a spell of five overs. Apart from the fast bowlers, Jadeja will play a role on a dry surface that is a lot different from the ones dished out in the first two matches.