‘England have an excellent chance of building…’ – Former English captain backs visiting side to win Test series vs India

Former English cricketer Michael Atherton has backed the Ben Stokes-led side to win the Test series against India. Notably, England already has a 1-0 lead in the five matches of the Test series, and they will be looking to win the second Test as well to get a 2-0 lead against a strong home side.

The 55-year-old cricketer believes that it will be disappointing to see England lose the Test series despite winning the opening Test game. In addition, the former opening batter feels the visiting side has a slight profit in the ongoing Test game due to the absence of two crucial players, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, from India’s camp.

“England have moved from heavy second favourites to a situation where it would be a disappointment now if they did not win the series. Such an outcome, so unexpected and so unbelievable given where both teams were in the first innings, must have had a huge psychological impact, especially given the quick turnaround and the injuries to two of India’s key players, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. England have an excellent chance of building on their lead,” Michael Atherton wrote in his column.

Virat Kohli’s electric presence in the field, as much as anything, was missed: Michael Atherton

Michael Atherton feels Virat Kohli’s absence in the first Test match played a crucial role in India losing the Test by a narrow margin. Moreover, the former English skipper also pointed out a few mistakes made by skipper Rohit Sharma while comparing him to former India skipper MS Dhoni. The former right-handed batter feels Kohli’s electric presence in the field was missed.

“How significant Kohli’s absence was became apparent during the first Test. Rohit Sharma is a captain in a very different mould from his predecessor [Kohli] — at once more laid-back, albeit not quite so passive as MS Dhoni. As England began to get ahead in Hyderabad, Kohli’s electric presence in the field, as much as anything, was missed,” he added further.