CHENNAI: Such is the quality of the Indian batting line up that England bowlers will need to bowl their best balls repeatedly if they want to put the hosts, led by their peerless skipper Virat Kohli, under any kind of pressure during the upcoming Test series, reckons batting coach Graham Thorpe.
Since his horrendous show in an away series in England in 2014, Kohli has demolished England attack both at home (2016) and away (2018) although the team had contrasting results in both series.
Asked if the bowling unit led by James Anderson has any specific plans for the Indian captain, the former England left-hander said, “We know that he is a fantastic player and he has shown that for many years now. Virat is in one of that batting orders which understands home conditions very well.”
“The key for our bowling attack will be to bowl our ‘best ball’ as often as we can. I don’t think we can ask for anything more from our spinners and seamers. We need to have runs on the board and then having the Indian batting order under pressure will really be the key for us. To take the game deep will be an important aspect for England,” Thorpe said.
The Indian bowling is no longer about spinners weaving magic on rank turners and Thorpe said that they are well aware about how rounded this current home team attack is.
“The one thing about the Indian bowling attack is, it’s not just about spin. I suppose their seam attack is also strong and so from that point of view it’s not to just get side-tracked completely in into the spin side of things as well.”
The challenge posed by both Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin can be a tough one but the batting coach understands that a balance needs to be created. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
