The tour to India is certainly a big one for the England cricket team because it is very difficult to defeat the Indian squad in their own backyard and secondly, it is also touted as the biggest test of Bazball by many cricket experts and former cricketers.
Bazball is the name given to the aggressive approach of the England cricket team in test cricket which they have adopted since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have become the skipper and the head coach, respectively. Till now, the England cricket team tasted success in almost all the series which they played with the Bazball approach but there were many who warned them that it would not work in India because the pitches are mostly turning tracks and not supportive to pace bowling.
However, the English squad silenced everyone by beating the Indian team in the first test match which was played at Hyderabad. Nevertheless, their critics started slamming them mercilessly after they lost the second and the third test matches to India.
The England side fought well in the second test match which was played at Vizag but in Rajkot, they were crushed by the Indian team as the visitors lost the match by a huge margin of 434 runs.
What is more surprising is the fact that England is struggling when India is playing without few main players – Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami and KL Rahul. If we talk about the third test match, then we also need to mention that Ravichandran Ashwin also missed 2 days game as he needed to be with his family after his mother got hospitalized.
The former Indian cricketer and former President of the BCCI, Sourav Ganguly said during an interview that the Bazball approach is good but he feels that it will be difficult for the England cricket team to achieve success in Indian conditions. He said that he will be surprised if India loses the series because we should not forget that this team is playing without Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, this is a young team but England is still struggling in front of them.
Will the England cricket team be able to make a comeback in the fourth test match that will be played at Ranchi from 23 Feb? What do you think?