Star off-spinner R Ashwin of the India National Cricket Team has expressed his strong opinion on the statements made by veteran England National Cricket Team pacer James Anderson regarding the pursuit of a 600-run target in the second Test in Vizag.
Following a remarkable victory against the Indian team in the first Test of the recently concluded five-match series in Hyderabad, the English players became overconfident. Anderson, in particular, boldly claimed that they would successfully chase down 600 runs in the Vizag Test.
On the third day of the second Test, India set a challenging target of 399 runs for England. Despite a decent performance by the English batters on day three, finishing at 67 for the loss of one wicket in 14 overs, they faced a daunting challenge against the dominant Indian bowling unit.
Anderson had stated, “The chat last night from the coach (Brendon McCullum) was that if they get 600, we were going to go for it. It makes it very clear to everyone that we will try to do it tomorrow. I know there are 180 overs left in the game, but we will try to do it in 60 or 70. That’s the way we play, and we saw that tonight with Rehan (Ahmed) going out and playing his shots.”
However, England suffered a crushing defeat against Rohit Sharma & Co. as they struggled to withstand the prowess of the Indian bowling attack, ultimately losing by 106 runs and leveling the series 1-1.
In a video posted on his official YouTube channel, R Ashwin discussed James Anderson’s remarks, expressing the opinion that Anderson had gone too far.
R Ashwin stated, “James Anderson went into a press conference in the second Test after winning the first considerably well. Much respect to them for winning that. He told the press that even if the 4th innings target was 500 or 600, we’ll finish it in 60 overs. Even though it was an example of their positive mindset, it felt like they had gone too far.”
Ashwin also shared his thoughts on England’s Bazball approach, making a significant revelation. He was straightforward in his assessment, asserting that English batters avoid playing defensively due to the fear of getting out. Ashwin expressed surprise at Joe Root endorsing Bazball despite having a solid defensive technique.
“The one thing I understood after the first Test is that Bazball isn’t just aggressive cricket. It is defenseless cricket. They aren’t going to play a defensive shot at all. They are going to get out if they play defence. To my surprise, Joe Root also agreed to their game plan. Because if you take world cricket’s best defence rankings, Root is an easy number 1 on that list against spin. He also bought into their approach,” remarked the 37-year-old R Ashwin.
Ultimately, the India National Cricket Team staged a remarkable comeback in the five-match Test series, defeating the Ben Stokes-led England by 4-1. This marked England’s first-ever Test series loss under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.
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