It would be an exaggeration to suggest that England's cricket squad is suffering against India in the present Test series. There have been times when Joe Root's squad has been able to put Virat Kohli's team on the back foot. In this series, Root has already hit two hundreds, and England's bowlers have done well against India's middle order.
Despite their successes, England has battled with its strategies and made several mistakes, causing them to fall a peg or two behind India. The last day of the Lord's Test between the two sides saw a topsy-turvy affair, with India moving from being on the verge of losing the match due to a late-order collapse to bowling England out and winning the match. As the third Test starts from Wednesday, former England cricketer Monty Panesar believes the hosts are missing the presence of Ben Stokes, who took a break from all forms of cricket to "prioritise his mental well-being".
"I think India has got a chance to keep up the lead. They continue to be aggressive. Once you have gone into such a position in the fray, India has put England on the backfoot. They would put pressure on England," Panesar told Inside Sport. "England are missing Ben Stokes. If you see, India being on the front foot, the inclusion of Ben Stokes would have enhanced England when they were in struggle. He can contribute with the bat and the ball," he added.
"Depends on India, if India goes on a back foot, it will be nice to England. This I think will bring them back into the game. India needs to be on the front foot now. England didn’t expect that the battle would go so hard on them. They may come back in all hostility," he signed off.
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