Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly felt disappointed after India suffered a humiliating defeat against England in the second Test at Lord’s and he is unsure about the change of situation in rest of the Test series.
Facing the toughest batting condition after losing the toss, the Indian team was bundled out for just 107 runs. After a struggling period with 131/5, England moved out from the tough situation by Chris Woakes (137*) and Jonny Bairstow’s (93) brilliant batting performances as England put 396/7 on the board before the declaration and took a massive 289 runs lead.
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In the second innings, the disaster batting performances were continued by the Indian batsmen as they were bundled out for just 130 runs and England won by an innings and 159 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin’s 33 not out in the second innings was the only 30+ knock by an Indian batsman in the whole Test match.
To come out from the tough situation, Ganguly has advised for few changes in the playing XI including the inclusion of young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
After that disappointing defeat, Ganguly said, “It is difficult to understand (Indian dismissals) and the worst bit is that there are three Test matches to go (in the series) and I don’t know how they will solve their problems (against the England fast bowlers). There is not a lot that the Indian team can do for the next Test, maybe they can bring Shikhar Dhawan back in the side, speak to Cheteshwar Pujara that it is good that he survived 70 deliveries, but the team needs runs off so many deliveries to relieve some of the pressure on the other batsmen. I think Rishabh Pant has to come into this side as Dinesh Karthik looks woefully out-of-form. I saw him (Karthik) in the nets in the morning and he couldn’t put bat to ball. I think a left-hander in the side will help the team and Pant isn’t scarred by India’s losses and he is also capable of changing the course of a game.”
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Meanwhile, the hero of the match Chris Woakes feels delighted with his impressive all-round performances in the game. After returning from the injury in that Lord’s Test, Woakes scored a brilliant unbeaten century (137*) in the tough period and also took two wickets in each innings (2/19 & 2/24).
Talking about the performances, Woakes said, “(I am) obviously delighted that we won the match inside four days. For me, scoring a century and getting on the honours’ board is something that will stay with me forever. Finally, it has started to sink in a bit, I wish I had sunk it up more in the middle but it all went by in a flash. I was a bit nervous from 80 onwards, but Jonny (Bairstow) calmed me down a bit, which is funny because usually I calm him down. It has been an amazing game and a complete performance from the team, which makes the win even more special.”
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On the other hand, another English pacer Stuart Broad, who took four wickets (4/44) in India’s second innings, feels great after that powerful victory while also admits that they got the better conditions in the whole game.
Broad said after the victory, “I think it was a powerful performance from the team, which was right up there (with the best). After the last Test, it was great of us to come at Lord’s with the same amount of intensity and energy and we got the best of the conditions as well. The clouds seemed to work for us and also the sun was out when we were batting. We (England bowlers) didn’t give India too many freebies. We made Pujara work so hard for his runs. 87 balls, I think. He’s a world-class batsman with an average of 50, but there was always a ball with the batsman’s name written on it. It was a really strong performance by all our bowlers.”
