IND vs WI: Ishan Kishan feels England’s Bazball can be executed only on flat pitches! Here’s why –

India and West Indies played out a tame draw in the second and final Test, in Port-of-Spain in Trinidad, after the final day’s play got washed out on Monday (July 24). After gaining a whopping 183-run lead, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj’s 5 for 60, India accelerated from the word go in their second essay on the fourth day, with rain already making its presence felt, and set up a challenging 365-run target for the hosts. Day Five was going to be a tough contest between bat and ball with West Indies in search of 289 more runs whereas India needed eight more scalps for a win.

Nonetheless, rain played spoilsport to the entire day as honours were shared with India winning the series 1-0. Talking about India’s second innings, they impressed one and all with their strokeplay, declaring 181 for 2 in just 24 overs (with a run rate of 7.54). Thus, many compared India’s style of play with England’s Bazball approach. Recently, Ishan Kishan — who made his Test debut in the West Indies series and slammed an unbeaten 34-ball 52 in India’s second essay of the final Test — opined on England’s Bazball and made a big claim. 

“It is not possible that you can play that fast every day, it depends upon the situation also,” Kishan told the reporters after Day five of the second Test got completely washed out.

‘Don’t think it is necessary that we must play…’

The 25-year-old added, “If the wicket is flat, where you can score quickly, and the need of the team is to get runs quickly, then I think you can take on that action. I don’t think it is necessary that we must play in an aggressive manner in every match, but whenever there will be a need of playing attacking cricket, we have got enough firepower in our ranks. I don’t think you can always play attacking shots in Test cricket.”

A lot has been said and written about England’s Bazball approach in the red-ball format ever since Ben Stokes became the captain along with Brendon McCullum joining in as the head coach, in early 2022. Since then, the Three Lions have been on a roll in whites but lost a golden opportunity to win a home Ashes series in the ongoing 2023 edition after the fourth and penultimate Test, in Manchester, ended in a draw. Pat Cummins-led Aussies lead the five-match series 2-1. 

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