If you ask legendary Australian opener Matthew Hayden, there is no going back for England after the Rajkot humiliation. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s sensational double hundred and all-round show from local boy Ravindra Jadeja made sure India annihilated England by 434 runs to hand Ben Stokes and Co. their biggest-ever defeat since 1934. Despite missing the services of veteran Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma’s Team India crushed England in the 3rd Test to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
After England’s stunning 28-run win over the hosts in Hyderabad, India have hammered the visitors twice so far. India restored parity by thrashing England’s Bazballers by 106 runs at Visakhapatnam. Showcasing their bench strength at Rajkot, the young Indian side hammered England to put Stokes and Co. under the pump. Even England’s successful Bazball approach has come under intense scrutiny after the drubbing in the third Test.
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It’s India all the way for Hayden
Can England bounce back and take the bragging rights away from India in the Test series? Former Australian opener Hayden is convinced that Rohit and Co. are in the driving seat to upstage England as far as the remaining games are concerned. “I think it’s India all the way (the result of the series). I was looking at the result this morning and thought that India, as a touring side, is a challenge for this reason. It’s a battle of energy and conservation of that resource, which is very limited,” Hayden told Star Sports.
England’s Bazball backfired
England’s premier batter and talisman Joe Root is also facing the heat in India’s backyard. Hosts India have exposed England’s Bazball approach by giving a taste of its own medicine in the Test series. Opener Ben Duckett smashed a brilliant 88-ball century but England only managed to score 319 while replying to India’s first-innings 445 total in Rajkot. When asked to chase down a daunting target of 557, England’s Bazeballers folded for 122 to lose the Rajkot encounter by a massive margin.
‘There’s this great energy in India’
“The game, the spectators and the country just keeps coming at you. There’s this great energy in India, especially in winning against England, and you can put Australia on that list as well especially now. You have to be a guru and have to have a mindset of stillness just to be able to survive mentally there. You have already seen England this series get in front of games, but not be able to sustain it. And it is because of the relentless nature of having to turn up every moment, every ball, every session,” Hayden added.
