Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that Team India’s new bowling pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep bowled from the wrong ends on Day 1 (Thursday, July 10) of the third Test against England at Lord’s. However,
Bumrah bowled six overs in his opening spell, while Akash Deep bowled four overs.

Reacting to this on his YouTube channel (@officialIrfanPathan), the veteran said, “The way the game began, I felt that Bumrah was bowling from the Pavilion End. But ideally, Bumrah should have bowled from the Nursery End, and Akash Deep should have taken the Pavilion End. When Akash Deep was bowling, it seemed like he was still trying to find his rhythm. He’s primarily an inswing bowler, and the Nursery End generally offers more assistance to outswingers.”

“Bumrah, being a senior and experienced bowler, can adjust from any end. But for Akash Deep, this was his first opportunity to play at Lord’s, so a switch in ends might have helped. That didn’t happen, and because of that, I felt the Indian bowlers couldn’t make the early impact they needed with the new ball,” he further added.

However, it was Nitish Kumar Reddy who provided the breakthrough, striking twice in his first over to remove both English openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley as well. Pathan also applauded the young all-rounder for his stunning show.

“The way the game unfolded in the morning — especially the first hour — there were quite a few plays and misses, but the wickets didn’t come. Then Nitish Kumar Reddy came on to bowl, and the two wickets he took clearly showed that if he can keep picking up one or two wickets consistently in every match, he could prove to be very crucial for India in the future. As a batting all-rounder, his presence can significantly strengthen the team’s balance and combination going forward. He bowled well, got the ball to swing, and there was noticeable bounce as well,” Pathan again said.

However, Irfan Pathan also shared his thoughts on Shubman Gill’s captaincy on Day 1 of the third Test, sharing that the youngster made smart bowling changes and did a good job as well.

Pathan said, “I’d say the captaincy was quite good as well. For instance, bringing Ravindra Jadeja on to bowl from the Nursery End was a smart move — the slope from that end helps a left-arm spinner generate some natural angle, and that’s exactly what happened. Jadeja even picked up a wicket from there. Nitish Kumar Reddy was also introduced at the right time to break the partnership, and he managed to get a wicket too.”

“In the morning, there was some movement, and the captain made good use of it by bringing in the fourth fast bowler. The bowlers were rotated regularly as well. So overall, there didn’t seem to be any real issues with the captaincy. The team just needs to play with a bit more patience,” Irfan Pathan concluded.