English batting line-up has more problems than the Indian batting: Harbhajan Singh

The Virat Kohli-led Indian team came back in a sensational fashion to win the third Test match England with that managing to keep the five-match Test series alive with the scoreline reading 2-1 in favour of the hosts. The visitors outplayed the Englishmen in all the departments of the game with the entire team coming together to put up a great show, whereas, for England, the form of their top order batters has been a worry. Veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also feels that England will have more troubles to sort out their batting woes as compared to India, especially after the Trent Bridge debacle.

The England batting line-up looks vulnerable against both pace and spin

Harbhajan who is currently a part of the Sky Sports commentary panel for the series mentioned that this England batting line-up is out of order as they are struggling against both pace as well as spin bowling. He stated that some of the present batsmen of this England team do not have a good record in testing conditions at home, which is very strange.

The hosts suffered a dramatic collapse on the second day of the third Test match when they were bowled out within a session. It was also the third time in two years that this England team lost all their ten wickets in a single session of a Test match.

“The English batting line-up looks more problematic than the Indian batting at the moment. They are playing as if they are touring India, and not the other way round. Their batting line-up is more vulnerable to both pace and spin, and they look weak. Some of their first-choice batsmen have an ordinary record in domestic cricket, averaging 30-35 at best. In India, you have to average over 50 to be even considered. They have good depth in ODI cricket but in Tests, their batting has not done much,” said Harbhajan as quoted by TOI.

It is not very easy to come and win in England

The Indian offie reckoned that it is a huge accomplishment to win Test matches in England, as India last won a Test series here in 2007. In his view, the first Test at Birmingham was a very close game and had India won that match, the series scoreline could have now been in their favour. He is confident that this Indian side can win the next Test in Southampton and square the five-match series.

“It is not easy to come and play in England. You cannot say that previous Indian teams did better here. Apart from 2007, when did we last win a series in England? We tend to over-react easily and criticise too early. It takes time to get used to conditions in England. You can practice as much as you want but match conditions are different from nets. The Birmingham Test was so close, and if India had won there narrowly (instead of losing), we wouldn’t have had so much criticism and the series would currently be 2-1 to India instead,” Bhajji added.

“After such a performance I back India to win the next Test in Southampton, and then anything can happen in the Oval Test. At the Oval, we could get a true Indian wicket with lot of bounce and lateral movement is less there as well,” he said.

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