Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra highlights the positives for India from the Leeds test match. He believes India does not need to make wholesale changes.
The five-match Test series is now equal at 1-1 as India lost the third test at Leeds by an innings and 76 runs. After bowling the visitors out for a paltry 78, England put on 432 runs on the board. In response, India managed only 278 runs, handing the hosts an important win.
England win the third #ENGvIND Test at Headingley & level the series 1-1 against #TeamIndia.
We will look to bounce back in the fourth Test, starting September 2.
Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/FChN8SDsxh pic.twitter.com/bwV926w2Vt
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 28, 2021
In a video on Aakash Chopra’s Youtube Channel, he stated that the loss was disappointing, but India does not need to many a lot of changes to the squad. He also asserted that Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli’s knocks were important takeaways for India. The duo was struggling to get runs this year, however, their performance in the second innings will boost their confidence. Aakash Chopra said,
“Of course, it is a crushing loss. When you lose by an innings and more runs, you know you have been completely outplayed but you are not looking at wholesale changes. In the first innings, you were dismissed for 78 and in the second innings if you had hypothetically folded for 150, then it would have been catastrophic.”
“Now you have batted the entire third day, of course, it would have been better if you had batted a little better on the fourth day. You got important runs from Cheteshwar Pujara and the way he played, Virat Kohli got his first half-century. These are two very important elements that I feel will be in India’s favor,” Chopra added.
Ishant Sharma’s performance has gone slightly down: Aakash Chopra
India’s veteran pacer Ishant Sharma was very expensive in the Leeds test match. He conceded 92 runs at an economy rate of 4.2, with no wickets to his name. Aakash Chopra pointed out that Ishant’s performance has gone down a little. He added that the rest of the team has performed decently.
“Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets and scored a few runs as well. He has been continuously doing that. Rohit Sharma is continuing in that same form. Only Ishant Sharma’s performance has gone slightly down, the rest of them have done decently well,” Aakash Chopra said.