"It's not that they are yesterday's kids" - Owais Shah criticizes England's batting on Day 1 of 5th Test vs India
Owais Shah has criticized England's experienced middle order for failing to deliver once again on the first day of the fifth Test against India in Dharamsala on Thursday, March 7.
England were bowled out for 218 in their first innings after Ben Stokes opted to bat first. India ended the day at a comfortable 135/1, trailing the visitors by just 83 runs with nine first-innings wickets in hand.
While reviewing the day's play on Colors Cineplex, Owais Shah expressed disappointment over England's batting, especially the experienced trio of Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow. He elaborated:
"It is disappointing because captain Stokes won the toss also and decided to bat. Both openers gave them a very good start as well. They have given good starts in the entire series but the middle order didn't fire once again."
"I am myself unable to understand why the England middle order is not firing. They have Ben Stokes and Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow is playing his 100th Test. So it's not that they are yesterday's kids, all of them have decent experience," the former England batter added.
Owais Shah noted that the England batters weren't playing under any pressure either as the series was already decided.
"If we see the second innings of the fourth Test in Ranchi, there was pressure on the batters and they got out quickly. There was no pressure today as the series was gone. However, this was an opportunity for the batters to bat on such a good wicket but they lost it," he stated.
Zak Crawley (79) and Ben Duckett (27) stitched together a 64-run opening-wicket partnership to give England a good start. However, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, with Bairstow (29), Root (26) and Stokes (0) falling in quick succession, and were eventually bowled out for an underwhelming score.
"You should know by the fifth Test what all deliveries Kuldeep Yadav has and how he uses them" - Owais Shah
Owais Shah was particularly peeved about the England batters' inability to read Kuldeep Yadav from his hand.
"You should know by the fifth Test what all deliveries Kuldeep Yadav has and how he uses them. However, I feel there are still four or five batters in England's middle order who couldn't read him from the hand. You can only attack a bowler when you read him from the hand," he observed.
Kuldeep registered figures of 5/72 in 15 overs, picking up five of the first six England wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin (4/51) then ran through the lower order to ensure that the visitors were bundled out for a below-par score.