To say India is playing Australian brand of cricket would be a little bit harsh: Paul Collingwood

England’s assistant coach Paul Collingwood has come out and said that it would be harsh to say that the current Indian team in England is playing the brand of cricket which has been long associated with the Australian team. After the second Test match at Lord’s, there was a bit of a talk regarding the way the Indian team conducted themselves, especially fingers being raised at captain Virat Kohli.

However, the performance of India in the third Test at Headingley didn’t really allow them to continue with their ‘in-your-face’ attitude. England went on to win that Test by an innings and 76 runs in Leeds. With the series now being poised at 1-1, Collingwood spoke to the media going into the fourth Test at the Oval in London. 

You do have heated exchanges, it was great to watch: Paul Collingwood

While speaking about everything that unfolded at Lord’s, Collingwood seemed to hint that it was the passion of the players that were on display. “I think the Lord’s Test was a very heated Test match, it was very close all the way through. Both sides do not want to give an inch when you have two countries to whom winning means a lot and you do have heated exchanges, so it was great to watch,” Collingwood said during the media interaction as quoted by NDTV.

To make a point further, the journalists might have compared the Indian team with the Australian teams of the past, who were known for their heated rivalry on the field with the opposition. But, the former England skipper said it would be harsh to compare Virat Kohli’s men with the Aussies from the past.

“We were on the wrong end of the result. Both teams were head to head against each other. The Australians’ behavior and the way they play their cricket have changed over the years, so to say that India is like Australians would be a little bit harsh,” he added.

Collingwood further said that Kohli is a proud man and leads India with a lot of emotions. But, he noted that the English team is completely focused on how they are playing and how everything is working out for them. After the heated exchanges at Lord’s, it was said that the English team lost their track in the match and ended up losing the game. But, at Leeds, they turned up calm and succeeded.