Parthiv Patel imagines a 5-0 triumph for India in the upcoming five-match Test series against England, expressing confidence that this will be the team’s objective starting from the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25. India has maintained a formidable record at home, with their last Test series defeat occurring in 2012 against Alastair Cook’s team.
However, Parthiv Patel is confident that considering India’s recent strong performance in Test cricket, both at home and abroad, the team believes they can overpower England. The former cricketer shared these thoughts in a statement to Jio Cinema & IANS.
“I think the Indian team will aim for 5-0. I think they need a 4-0 win to get to the top of the WTC standings. Looking at the last cycle, India won a lot of overseas Tests. I don’t think India need to change their approach.”
He added: “It’s the visiting teams that have to come up with different strategies. It remains to be seen whether Bazball will work here or not. If the ball spins, I don’t think it will work here because there’s too much quality in India’s spin attack that includes Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep.”
India participated in the briefest Test match ever witnessed in cricket history. The Cape Town Test against South Africa concluded after only 642 deliveries, with the visitors securing a seven-wicket victory.
England requires additional support for Bazball against India: Pragyan Ojha
Pragyan Ojha, the former Indian left-arm spinner, participated in the conversation and believes that England will adhere to their Bazball strategy in India. Following their 3-0 Test series win in Pakistan in December 2022, the visitors are expected to approach the series with confidence in similar conditions.
However, Ojha suggested that Ben Stokes and the team should be prepared with an alternative plan since the pitches in India might not be as fast-paced as those in Pakistan. He remarked:
“I feel England will be very confident with the strategy they have adopted. But they need a back-up plan because the conditions won’t be like what they were in Pakistan. The wickets were slightly better and favored the batsmen. Here, the conditions will favor the spinners. So how they tackle this will be very important.”
Ojha further asserted that deploying their extremely aggressive style of cricket against a formidable Indian bowling attack in their home territory would pose a challenge for the visitors. Parthiv Patel remarked:
“Bazball revolves around playing bold and fearless cricket, aiming to establish a psychological advantage. Implementing Bazball in India will be challenging as it involves facing the Indian spinners, as well as formidable pacers like Jasprit Bumrah.”
England faced a 3-1 defeat during their last Test series tour to India in 2021. Despite anticipating spin-friendly pitches this time, the visitors could find motivation in Australia’s victory over India on a turning track in Indore during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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