Gavaskar Backs 'Viratball' to Counter England's 'Bazball' in Test Series Opener
Kohli's Form Crucial for India, Atherton Predicts India's Spin Superiority
Sunil Gavaskar believes that 'Viratball' would be able to counter England's much-discussed 'Bazball' strategy during the five-Test series that kicks off in Hyderabad on Thursday.
England's batting lineup has adopted a very aggressive attitude to the game, which is sometimes linked to head coach Brendon McCullum's playing career.
"Virat Kohli appears like he has terrific mobility during batting. We have Viratball to counter Bazball with his current form, Gavaskar told Star Sports.
India's batting backbone will be Kohli, who is 152 runs shy of being a member of the 9000-run club in Test cricket. In 113 matches, he has 30 centuries and 29 fifties.
Indeed, conversion is defined as possessing more hundreds than fifty. Gavaskar said, "Kohli has a good conversion rate because he has a similar number of hundreds and fifties."
In their previous series, England and India drew at home. But India, the hosts, who haven't lost a home Test series since losing 1-2 to England in the 2012–2013 campaign, are still a dangerous foe.
An exciting matchup between England's aggressive batting approach and India's spin attack, spearheaded by seasoned players like Ravichandran Ashwin, is anticipated in the next Test series. India's spin unit also includes players like Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja.
In the recent one to two years, England has changed their strategy for playing Test cricket. Batters have an aggressive stance, looking to assault. In any case, all they want to do is play aggressive cricket. It would be intriguing to see if this strategy is effective against India's spinners, Gavaskar said.
Michael Atherton thinks the decisions will be made by the Indian spinners. The former captain of England predicts that India will win the five-Test series because to their stronger spin assault.
"I predict India to triumph. In the end, what will matter most is that their spinners are superior versus England's, Atherton told Skysports.
The inexperienced Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, and Rehan Ahmed are the other spinners in the England team; Jack Leach is the only one with experience.
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