"The fewer shots you have, the better it is in these conditions" - Sanjay Bangar
Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar spoke about batting in English conditions ahead of the third Test. The 48-year-old was part of the Indian team that toured England in 2002.
India scripted one of their most dominant overseas wins during their visit to Leeds in 2002. Centuries scored by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly paved the way for a famous win, but the platform was set up by a 170-run partnership by Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid for the second wicket. Bangar stood his ground in extremely challenging conditions and played out 236 deliveries for his 68-run knock.
Bangar noted that keeping things simple was one of the things that worked in his favor. While speaking on Brad Hogg's YouTube channel, Bangar said:
"What happens at Headingley or in conditions which are seaming and swinging, the less shots you have, the better it is. And I never had too many shots in my book so that worked to my advantage, when you know, I sort of was restricted or very limited in my range of scoring or the range of shots that I had."
I don't think the conditions determine the choice of the openers: Sanjay Bangar
One of the positives for the Indian team so far has been the stability provided at the top of the order by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Bangar noted how Rohit Sharma cemented his place following a good run of performances and KL Rahul's credentials justified his place at the top of the order. He added:
"I think it was a bit of a chance for KL Rahul that he got a nod in, in the first place because all along Rohit Sharma has been nurtured as an opening batsman since the last two years, since he played a lot of home Test matches and that is a great place to begin for any opener. I don't think the conditions determine the choice of the openers as such but it was basically what was available and who were the personnel were and both of them were very very well adept at doing that particular role."
Following a lengthy break after events at Lord's, India and England will meet at Headingley, Leeds for the third Test of the series, starting today.