Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has made a bold prediction, stating that India will win the five-match Test series by either 4-0 or 5-0. India has been dominant in their conditions and they have won their last 16 consecutive Test series at home.
India last lost a Test series at home back in 2012 against England. Team India defeated England by 3-1 in 2021 and they will look to replicate the same success.
Meanwhile, England has done a tremendous job in posting 420 runs on the board in the second innings of the opening Test, courtesy of a piece-de-resistance knock of 196 runs from their vice-captain Ollie Pope.
Sourav Ganguly said as quoted by India Today, “India will win the series, the matter is whether they will win it 4-0 or 5-0. Every Test will be decisive. England could have won this Test match had they batted well. One cannot win against India by making 230 or 240 runs on Indian soil. Had they made 350 or 400, they could have beaten India, but they weren’t able to do that. It’s a tough series for England. Any team other than the Australia of that era could not create any impact here.”
The former BCCI president reckons England’s Bazball approach won’t work in Indian spin conditions.
“Bazball is an approach where the match is played in a fast manner. India have spinning wickets and so, Bazball will not be applicable here,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ganguly also backed India to break their major ICC trophy hoodoo in the T20 World Cup. India recently made it to the final of the ODI World Cup but could not cross the last hurdle against Australia despite dominating the whole tournament.
“India have a good chance in the T20 World Cup,” Ganguly said. “Recently, India played in the World Cup final, and it was miserable that they lost against Australia. I didn’t expect that after playing in a very good manner throughout the tournament they will lose, but it happens in sports.”
He added: “India is a very good side. There will be another opportunity for India as the conditions in the West Indies and America are like India. The IPL will serve as a preparation for the World Cup.”
Ganguly also wants young players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill to grab their opportunities with both hands.
“They deserve to play for India. It is also a good opportunity for youngsters to cash in. Yashahvi has played well and Subhman has to play well. There is a lot of competition for spots in the batting lineup. According to me, Yashasvi is an all-format player. Rishabh Pant is also a huge player when he comes after recovering from an injury. Shreyas Iyer, Pant, and Shubman Gill have to adapt a lot,” he concluded.
India need 231 runs to win the opening Test against England.
