The Day 1 of the 5th Test between India and England truly belonged to the hosts. Rohit Sharma‘s men limited England to just 218 runs in the first innings before putting up 135/1 on the board before the end of play on the opening day in Dharamsala. Seeing Team India dominate England ruthlessly in the 5th and final Test of the series, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said that Ben Stokes would need some Indian players in his team if India were to be beaten.
India looked unperturbed on Thursday, coming up against England with the fate of the series already sealed. While Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin led the team’s charge with the ball, bagging 5 and 4 wickets respectively, Rohit Sharma and Yashsasvi Jaiswal did the bulk of the damage with the bat.
Shastri, placed in the commentary box, didn’t hesitate to give his verdict on the state of England’s performance in Dharamsala.
“To beat India in India, England need the entire bowling attack of India’s. They need a Yashasvi Jaiswal, a Rohit Sharma, and a couple of others,” said the former India head coach.
“So basically they need to outsource resources,” Sanjay Manjrekar, accompanying Shastri in the commentary box, doubled down.
Shastri agreed with Manjrekar’s suggestion, highlighting England haven’t won a single series in India since the 2012 tour.
“Absolutely. And it’s not new. It’s been for a long time. 2012 was the last time England won a series in India and since then, they haven’t even been able to tickle India, let alone win a series,” he added.
With the series firmly in India’s favour 3-1, England would need to put in a dramatic turnaround in their performance if they are to win the 5th and final Test, change the scoreline to a more respectable figure of 3-2.
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