Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan mentioned the moods of both England and India going into the second Test at Lord’s after the first game ended in a draw. He believes England must be having concerns ahead of this game while India have positives.
The opening Test match of the five-match series in Nottingham resulted in a draw after the rain washed out the fifth day. India were 52/1 overnight and were required 157 runs to win the game and take an early lead in the series. However, the weather didn’t permit the game to be completed.
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Meanwhile, Zaheer Khan mentioned the headaches England will be going through ahead of the second Test. He feels the form of top-three is a concern for England.
“There is a weakness in England’s top three batters Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, and Zak Crawley as they lack proper flow in their innings. The back lift is not working properly and the trio also doesn’t have a sound technique while facing the pacers and are not capable enough to score brisk runs,” he said in a video posted by Cricbuzz.
Team India played the first Test with four pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj while Ravindra Jadeja played the role of the lone spinner. Zaheer was happy with how India backed Shardul Thakur and it paid off.
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“India played four pacers and went with Thakur as the seam-bowling all-rounder and that was very impressive. Another positive for India was Jadeja scoring a fifty at a critical stage of the innings,” he added.
The 42-year-old was impressed with the form of Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.
“The openers in the seam and swing conditions left the balls well and displayed patience. Unlike England’s top-order batters who put pressure on the middle-order batters, Rahul and Sharma played much better and displayed a sound technique. This is a huge positive and augurs well for India in the coming few Tests,” he concluded.
The second Test will be played at Lord’s on August 12.
