Test Match 2: India vs England 2016
Sourav Ganguly claims that Vizag pitch will turn square from day 2 in India vs England 2016, test match series. With India surging to 317/4 at the end of the first day of the second Test against England in Vizag, former skipper Sourav Ganguly says that the Vizag surface will start to turn square from the 2nd day itself. Speaking to India Today new channel, the 44-year old also supported Cheteshwar Pujara’s ability to be a long-term no.3 for the Test team and questioned those criticising the Saurashtra batsman’s strike-rate. Ganguly claimed, “That is always the case in India and on this surface, the toss was crucial in the match. There are rough patches and tomorrow evening – this will turn square and if India gets to 450 or 500, England will have to bat really good in order to draw the match. I think India have batted brilliantly on day one and they should get the score around to 500-550.
India vs England 2016 – Match Side
The positive part is that the none of the English spinners have got wickets in the Day-1. After winning the toss, India found themselves in trouble after loosing the wickets of openers without contributing much to the scoreboard. However, Virat Kohli joined hands with Pujara to resecured their fortunes by putting together 226 runs for the third wicket on the score board. These two players targeted the England spinners relentlessly and manitained an healthy run-rate. Despite losing a couple of wickets towards the end of the First day, the hosts retained their advantage through Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 151 runs.
Another bone of contention surrounding India’s selection policy saw Amit Mishra being dropped for ongoing 2nd Test match in Vizag. Even though both the coach and captain threw their weight behind the leg-spinner publicly, they surprisingly opted to hand over a Test debut to Jayant Yadav(new player). On India’s unexpected selection decision, Sourav Ganguly affirmed, “A bit harsh on Mishra to get dropped and I feel he bowled well in the second innings of (1st) Rajkot Test match. I can understand from where the indian team management is coming with England having five left-handers in the match. At times you pick horses for courses but the message has to be clear to Amit Mishra that he was not dropped for poor form.”