India pulled off a comfortable win in the third ODI against England at Old Trafford on July 17, Sunday, and also clinched their first ODI series in England since 2014. India also managed to win the T20I series 2-1 and drew the Test series 2-2 on tour. However, former England skipper, Nasser Hussain highlighted Indian batters’ struggles against southpaw fast bowlers. Notably, the Men in Blue suffered a 100-run defeat in the second ODI, wherein Reece Topley took a six-fer.
Hussain said that India is a very strong team but needs to learn from the past. He reckons that India looked “timid” with the bat in the last T20 World Cup in UAE. He said that the top-order does not have to be timid when they have players Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja to follow.
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During a recent chat on Sony Sports Network, Nasser Hussain said, “India are a very strong team, but they need to learn from what happened in the past. In the last T20 World Cup in the UAE, they were a bit timid with the bat, so they need to stop being that. When you have Pandya and Pant in the middle order and then Jadeja that rope to follow, you don’t need to be timid at the top. They need to play to left-arm (pacers) a little bit better.”
Nasser Hussain also recalled the Indian top-order’s struggle against southpaw pacer, Mohammad Amir in the 2017 Champions Trophy at The Oval, where India lost its top three batters to Amir within the first nine overs. He said that Amir blew India’s top-order that afternoon on June 18, 2017.
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Explaining the same, Nasser Hussain said, “And Reece Topley has blown them away here (at Old Trafford). Their batting, Virat Kohli, will be fine. Once he is out of the break, he will be absolutely fine. They are positioned nicely. They just got to play ICC tournaments just like they play bilateral tournaments.”
India won the ODI in Manchester by five wickets, chasing a target of 260, courtesy of a fifth-wicket 133-run partnership by Pant and Pandya. Next in store for India is a tour to West Indies for three ODIs and five T20Is.
