India should end on a winning note: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar wants the Indian team to claw back in the Chennai Test after the England comeback on day 1. India were in a commanding position having sent English openers cheaply. Joe Root and Moeen Ali then put on a brief stand to bail England out of trouble. Root scored a gutsy 88 and Jonny Bairstow chipped in with a handy 49 too. It was Moeen Ali who was the star of the show with an unbeaten century. England finished at 284/4 at the end of day 1.

In a conversation with NDTV, Sunil Gavaskar showered praise on the English batsmen for their impressive performances. “2 hundred in a five-Test series is very very good. Today again, after a shaky start he (Moeen Ali) played well and he deserves all the credits. Joe Root batted exceedingly well, but unfortunately he hasn’t been able to convert his 70s and 80s,” conceded Sunil Gavaskar.

He, however, believes that it was poor bowling from India that facilitated English run flow. He mentioned that India could have bowled better on the day. “Considering the pitch was turning, India could have taken more wickets. The length of the bowlers were a little bit short,” Gavaskar remarked.

He believes the match serves a good chance for the visitors to end the tour on a high. They have had a disappointing series thus far trailing by 3-0. “It is an opportunity for England to end the series with their heads held high,” Gavaskar quoted.

At the same time, it is also an opportunity for India to prolong their unbeaten streak to 18 matches now. “India should end on a winning note, and once you stumble it’s difficult to comeback again,” the former Indian captain concluded.

It will be interesting to see how things fare out on the second day of the Test match. England will be hoping for Moeen Ali to play a marathon knock. For the Indians, it will be about picking up early wickets on the day.