ENG vs IND 2025: 'He has great numbers against him' - Varun Aaron highlights key battle ahead of Lord's Test
"The Archer vs India contest is what I will look at, because Archer has that ability to straighten the ball from off-stump to a left-hander," said Aaron.
Former Indian cricketer Varun Aaron has highlighted the potential battle between Jofra Archer and the Indian batting lineup as one of the key contests to watch in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He noted that the England pacer has the ability to trouble both Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, and also pointed out Archer’s impressive record against Shubman Gill.
The third Test of the five-match series between India and England will be played at Lord’s, starting Thursday, July 10. Archer, who was not part of England’s playing XI for the first two Tests, has been included in the XI for the Lord’s Test.
"The Archer vs India contest is what I will look at, because Archer has that ability to straighten the ball from off-stump to a left-hander. Jaiswal has been key for India, especially at the start," Aaron said on the Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.
"He can also expose if there are any problems with KL Rahul, with the ball coming back in, because we saw what Woakes did, attacking the stumps a lot. Then if we get Gill in early, again he has great numbers vs Gill," he added.
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Former Indian pacer also opined that the battle between Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep against England's top order could be another enticing contest in the upcoming Test.
"Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep vs the top order of the England batting unit, because Siraj and Akash Deep have gotten 17 wickets between them in the second Test, a lot of wickets with the new ball, and, at the end of the day, if you get wickets with the new ball and get your team off to a good start at Lord's, you are mostly commanding the whole Test," he concluded.
He highlighted Gill’s struggles against Archer in particular, noting that Gill has managed just 18 runs at an average of 9.00 against the English speedster in Tests. The Indian batter fell to Archer once in the first innings of the first Test in Chennai in February 2021 and again in the third Test in Ahmedabad during the same series.
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