The England cricket team has redefined itself in Test cricket, with the pairing of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes putting the ‘Bazball’ into action to change the way they play the red-ball format of the game. England put this form of their game into use as they took on India in the rescheduled 5th Test at Edgbaston.
However, the Edgbaston Test didn’t just see ‘Bazball’ into action from the hosts. India’s Rishabh Pant also showed a stunning counter-attacking game, scoring a century in the first innings. Though a lot of fans and cricketing experts have given their thumbs up to England’s new approach, Sanjay Manjrekar gave a hilarious take on the subject.
Despite India’s defeat, Manjrekar mocked ‘Bazball’ saying this version of the game isn’t something revolutionary as Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant has been doing it for almost his entire Test career.
Pant was India’s top-scoring batter in the Edgbaston Test, scoring 146 in the first innings and 57 in the second. His counter-attacking gameplay had put India in the driving seat, with the tourists putting a total of 416 runs on the board. However, India’s poor batting display in the second innings hurt their chances, as England went on to secure a 7-wicket win.
After winning the 5th Test in Birmingham, England skipper Ben Stokes explained how chasing the target of 378 runs in a Test match three weeks ago would’ve looking like a monumental task. But, with the new mindset and revamped approach, even such gigantic targets look chasable.
“378 would have been scary five weeks ago, but now it’s all good. Jonny and Root will get all the credit, but the precedent was set up by the way the openers played against Bumrah and Shami with the new ball. It is all about taking wickets and taking ten wickets. There are no complaints. Sometimes, teams will be better than us, but no one will be braver than us, quote by Jack Leach. We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is played in England. All our plans from the last four-five weeks is what we want to take ahead,” Stokes explained.
“Inspiring the next generation is what we want to do. We want to bring in new fans and want to leave a mark on Test cricket,” he concluded.
