Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has come down harsh on the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian team for an ineffective performance on Monday against England at Edgbaston. After setting a 387-run target for the hosts, the Indian bowlers had to toil hard for wickets. Though the stand-in captain drew the first blood right after the tea break, the England openers had already put 100 runs on the board.
Later, the duo of Jonny Bairstow and former captain Joe Root mauled team India with an unbeaten 150-run stand for the fourth wicket, taking the total to 259/3 at stumps on the fourth day. India are staring at defeat on the final day of the contest with England requiring just 119 runs to win the contest and level the series 2-2.
“I think (it was) disappointing, to say the least because they could have batted England out of this contest. They needed to bat two sessions and I thought they were defensive, they were timid today, especially after lunch,” Shastri said.
“Even after they had lost those wickets, they could have taken some chances. Runs were important at that stage of the game and I thought they just went into a shell, lost those wickets too quickly, and gave enough time for England to bat today,” he added.
