DTVHINDI
In a special show titled ‘Insiders Preview India vs England’ on JioCinema, Zaheer Khan, Parthiv Patel and Pragyan Ojha provided an important insight into the upcoming series. He told what fans can expect from the exciting tournament ahead. They discussed England’s point of view. During this, he also shared his opinion regarding the importance of baseball, pitches and toss.
Zaheer Khan: These days you don’t often see five Test match series happening. Baseball will remain in focus and we’ll see if England’s approach remains the same. The kind of pitches we will play on will definitely be another point of discussion. But both the teams will be desperate to prove their superiority.
2) Baseball has been quite successful but has not been tested in India yet
Pragyan Ojha: Baseball involves playing fearless cricket and England try to gain a psychological edge by using this strategy. It will be difficult to implement baseball in India because it will not be easy to play Indian spinners or Jasprit Bumrah and other fast bowlers.
3) Keeping in mind the World Test Championship, with what approach will India enter this series?
Parthiv Patel: I think the Indian team will aim for 5-0. I think they need a 4-0 win to top the WTC standings. If we look at the last cycle, India has won many tests abroad. I don’t think India needs to change its approach. It is the visiting teams who will have to come up with different strategies. It remains to be seen whether baseball will work here or not. If the ball spins, I don’t think it will work here because India have quality spinners including Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep.
4) After defeating Pakistan 3-0, with what confidence will England enter this series?
Pragyan Ojha: I think he will be very confident with the strategy that England has adopted. But they need a backup plan. Because the situation will not be the same as it was in Pakistan. The wickets were slightly better and suited the batsmen. The conditions here will be favorable for spinners. So how they deal with it will be very important. His performance in the first Test will decide the direction of the series.
5) What kind of pitches will be seen in this series?
Parthiv Patel: I think every ground will have its own character. We can see similar tracks in Hyderabad and Vizag also. In Rajkot, if they prepare a good wicket, we can see a lot of runs being scored. Their fast bowlers may hope to get some help in Dharamsala. Winning the toss will also be important for them. If they lose the toss it will be very difficult for them to make a comeback.
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