England has been basking in the glory of their new style of playing Test cricket, fondly called the ‘Bazball’, ever since the duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum came at the helm. The tactic has not only helped them dominate opponents since but has also helped several batters improve their average. But it hasn’t functioned properly in Indian conditions. Though England won the 5-match series opener in Hyderabad by 28 runs, they were completely floored by the hosts in the next two games, especially in Rajkot where England suffered their biggest defeat in terms of runs since 1934.
In McCullum’s regime so far, England have won 14 out of 20 Tests before the Rajkot humiliation. As the action shifts to Ranchi, the visitors will look to bounce back and level the series 1-1 so as to remain in the hunt. Ahead of the fourth Test, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has opined that it would be difficult for England to succeed in Indian conditions.
“Bazball is good, but it’s difficult for England to be successful in Indian conditions. I will be surprised if India lose the series. Please remember that India are playing without Virat [Kohli], KL [Rahul]. It’s a young team with many new faces, and yet, England are struggling,” Ganguly told Mid Day.
The former BCCI chief further heaped praise on youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan for bravely facing the Englishmen in the absence of experienced players. While the former notched up his second consecutive double-century in India’s second essay in Rajkot, his Mumbai teammate scored back-to-back fifty-plus scores.
“Jaiswal is not only a good player, he’s capable of playing all in formats of the game. Sarfaraz has started well. He now has to score in foreign countries. Sarfaraz is a good example for budding cricketers, who must keep in mind that if they score consistently, they will get their chances,” Ganguly said.
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