Indian team players react after win over England in Ranchi Test.© ANI
India’s home supremacy weathered the ‘Bazball’ storm as Rohit Sharma‘s men secured a hard-fought five-wicket win over England in the fourth and penultimate Test for a 17th consecutive series triumph in their own backyard on Monday, handing a harsh reality check to the visitors’ unidimensional approach. Following the victory, former India captain and spin legend Anil Kumble slammed Bazball and stated that it is never going to be easy to beat India at home. The term ‘Bazball’ is derived from ‘Baz’, the nickname of Brendon McCullum, who is the head coach of England’s Test team since May 2022.
Bazball is associated with England’s drastic change in approach in playing the longest format of the game since the arrival of McCullum in the role.
“See the challenge when England came here was obvious. India is not going to easy. Bazball, whatever ball you call it… but it’s not going to be easy beating India at home. That is the reason why India has been so dominant over the years. Last decade, India have never lost a series at home. They knew they had to be different but their bowling attack wasn’t certainly something that they believed would be able to penetrate the Indian batting,” said Kumble to JioCinema as quoted by Sportskeeda.
“Once they got to know that some of the senior players won’t be available, with an inexperienced line-up, they had a chance, but senior batters didn’t contribute consistently in that middle order, including Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and even Joe Root – other than this Test match, so that’s where I thought they missed a trick there,” added Kumble.
England’s plan to attack irrespective of circumstances found its match in the unflappable approach of the Indians.
While the visitors remained stubborn barring the conservative hundred by veteran Joe Root in Ranchi Test, the Indians adapted and refused to be bogged down by setbacks.
The result, England would be going back with their first series defeat under Stokes and McCullum. It is also the first time they have lost three back-to-back Tests.
(With PTI Inputs)
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