Manchester: India's abject surrender in the fourth cricket Test against England has come under attack from former cricketers, some of whom have raised serious questions marks over the team's ability to stage a fightback in the final match of the series, starting August 15 at The Oval.
With the five-match series evenly poised at 1-1, India produced a spineless batting performance to lose the fourth Test by an innings and 54 runs well inside three days, allowing England to take the lead.
The humiliating defeat has certainly raised a few questions about the young Indian team's character.
“There is such a short turn-around time between Tests in this series that batting extra-time in the nets won't help Indian batsmen,” said former India wicket-keeper Vijay Dahiya.
“When batsmen are not scoring runs and getting out in the same manner, things are bound to become technically challenging. And when you play successive Tests like this, you do not have time to work on your skills and implement it. Then, it becomes all about showing character and focussing on discipline, where this Indian team is found lacking,” he said.
“A simple example of this is how they have played Moeen Ali. At Southampton they defended against him and got out. So they attacked him at Old Trafford and still got out. Nobody thought that there was a match to save and you shouldn't play such shots against him,” he added.
Vice-captain Virat Kohli looked a pale shadow of himself in the series so far and Dahiya said pressure is getting the better of the talented right-hander in the tour.
“Kohli came into this series with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. He was expected to shine instead he hasn't scored a lot of runs and he is getting out in the same manner in every innings. More than technical, it is a mental thing for him now,” the former stumper said.
