Former India captain Anil Kumble suggested that England missed a trick by not giving the ball to Joe Root on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test in Hyderabad. Yashasvi Jaiswal and the bowlers put India in control on Day 1 after the visitors opted to bat. Ben Stokes led the way with the bat for England, slamming 70 but the Indian bowlers did well to restrict them to 246. In reply, Jaiswal raised his way to an unbeaten 76 in the final session as India ended Day 1 at 119/1.
Jack Leach struck for England on Day 1 as Rohit Sharma was dismissed on 24.
After Jaiswal’s carnage in the final hour of play on Day 1, Kumble slammed England captain Stokes for not giving the ball to Root.
“I thought England missed a trick by not using Joe Root because he’s someone you can really turn the ball, and he has a good action. And there was Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is a left-hander, and we saw Ashwin trouble the left-handers. So England probably missed a trick,” Kumble told the broadcasters.
Kumble’s prediction proved to true as Root dismissed Jaiswal in the first over on Day 2.
Kumble also labelled the England spinners as “inconsistent”, adding that unlike the Indian bowlers, they failed to utilise the conditions.
“I think it’s one, the length. I mean, they are not consistent at all on a surface where it’s assisting you a bit. We saw that with the Indian spinners. As soon as they bowled a good length, it was turning, so they got the lengths wrong. And then, when you want to spin, I mean first, is confidence. Hartley is playing his first game, Leach hasn’t really played in a while, and then he’s coming in.”
“But if they have to come back in this game, the spinners need to be a lot more consistent. So maybe England need to just keep the field away a little bit because I thought they were over attacks. Because yeah, I mean, you need a slip. Yes, you need a shot, but not for young spinners who are struggling to find the length,” Kumble said.
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