The England cricket team is quite enthralled after defeating India in the first test match of the 5-match series which was played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Before the beginning of the series, there were many who believed that England’s aggressive approach which they have named as “Bazball” may have worked on pitches which are conducive for pace bowling but it won’t work on Indian turning tracks. But the England cricket team has proved that Bazball can work in all the conditions and they will continue to play fearless cricket in the remaining series.
In the first test match, the England batters not only countered the Indian spinners effectively but the England spinners also troubled the Indian batters who are known as better players of spin. The England spinner Tom Hartley who made his international debut with the Hyderabad test ended the match with 9 wickets which also includes 7 wickets for 62 runs in India’s second innings.
The head coach of the England cricket team, Brendon McCullum is also a happy man and during an interview, he stated that he won’t mind playing all the spinners in the second test match which is going to be played at Vishakapatnam if the pitches continue to turn as they turned in the first match.
With Shoaib Bashir arriving in India, Brendon McCullum is quite happy with the spin attack at his disposal and he praised the uncapped player by saying that he was in the camp at Abu Dhabi and he impressed the team management with his skills and enthusiasm, however he is young and has limited experience in first class cricket.
Brendon McCullum was also happy with Tom Hartley’s performance and said that though he has played few first class matches, they saw something special in him which they felt will work in India and he is a tough character as well. Brendon McCullum also praised Ben Stokes for handling Tom Hartley in a good manner and also called it a real sign of leadership.
The second test match will start from 2nd February and it will be played at Dr. Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium – Visakhapatnam.
What do you think, will England choose to go with all the spinners in the second test match? Well, after India’s defeat in first test match, there are good chances that the track in the second test match will be supportive to spinners as India will like to make a comeback in the series.