Former Indian skipper Kris Srikkanth lashed out at India’s bowling performance after the visitors suffered a huge loss of 125 runs against England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Tuesday.
Indian captain Shreyas Iyer decided to bowl first after winning the toss but England posted a par score of 201 runs on the board. Phil Salt, who got off to a sedate start, went on to score 70 runs off 44 balls. Jos Buttler scored 36 off 21 balls whereas Sam Curran added the finishing touches with 24-ball 41.
Axar Patel took a beating as he conceded 49 runs in his quota of four overs. Varun Chakravarthy conceded 35 runs in three overs whereas Harshit Rana was taken for 40 runs in his four overs.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “Salt was really struggling before he got hold of Varun Chakaravarthy. The Indian bowlers bowl too many slower deliveries. Salt kept smashing the change of pace deliveries. The Indian bowlers turned Sam Curran into a great batter. Only Prince Yadav commanded any respect from the England batters.”
“Going forward, India has no chance with this bowling lineup. In addition, India’s fielding is also terrible. It feels like a massive achievement if Shivam Dube just holds on to the ball. The ball seemingly keeps looking for Dube. Yet, India are foolishly keeping him in the outfield. Without Bumrah and Hardik, this attack and then the overall teams looks very ordinary.”
Barring Prince Yadav, all the Indian bowlers conceded their runs at an economy rate of nine and more.
Meanwhile, the 1983 World Cup-winning player added Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the only batter who played with guts against England. The youngster was dismissed on a short ball after scoring 13 runs.
“Despite the twin failures, I like the way he’s playing. I hope he doesn’t worry about not going big. I am certain he will score a 90 in atleast one of the remaining two matches. He was the only one who played with guts yesterday. He is playing courageously and should keep playing. Once he starts clicking, he will go to a different level,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
The fourth T20I between England and India will be played at Bristol, County Ground on Thursday.
