Xtra Time Web Desk: England assistant coach Graham Thorpe on Friday shared an advice for the England bowlers on how to return successful against the strong Indian batting line up. According to Thorpe, the key will be to bowl their best balls repeatedly at the Indian batsmen led by Virat Kohli.
“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,” said during a virtual interaction with the media.
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.”
Commenting on the Indian bowling which saw a sea change in last few years, not relying only on spinners but also boasting of a good seam attack, Thorpe said, “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.
“Indian bowling has developed into a very good attack and we are very aware of that. When you come to the sub-continent you will have to deal with spin. More so with Indian attack, we are aware. The training time (three days) will be used to strike a fine balance practising both.”
For Thorpe, there couldn’t have been a bigger challenge than facing an Indian team that has just beaten Australia in Australia.
“India at home is a real challenge. They’re playing very good cricket and have been very strong at home. They’ve been coming back off a win in Australia as well, so for us, it presents a real challenge. Let’s say that’s sort of where you want to be as a player,” Thorpe signed off.