‘Virat Kohli is one who could drive this’: David Lloyd claims only India can follow England’s bazball method

England impressed one and all with their bazball method in the entire Rawalpindi Test to beat Pakistan by 74 runs on Day 5 of the three-match series opener on Monday (December 05). Opting to bat first on an unimpressive track, with nothing for bowlers, England rode on four centuries — from Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brooks — to post 657 all-out in 101 overs.

In reply, Pakistan made 579 all-out with centuries from Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique and captain Babar Azam. With a 78-run lead, England batters once again impressed and went all-out in their approach to post 264-7 in 35.5 overs, at over seven runs per over, to set up a challenging 343-run target. On Day 5, Pakistan were 259-5 but got dismissed for 268. Post the Test match, many have hailed Ben Stokes & Co. for their bazball method which lit up the Test, played on a dead wicket.

Nonetheless, ex-English cricketer David Lloyd feels that England’s approach isn’t new. He recalled the great teams such as West Indies and Australia which were aggressive and never played for a draw. Lloyd further  mentioned that only India can play a similar brand of cricket in whites, despite their batters being obsessed with numbers, due to Virat Kohli. “It is not totally new, of course. The Australian team of the 90s were very positive and the great West Indian sides were full of exhilarating stroke-makers. I reckon a team capable of this style now is India. They have all the tools. There has been a suspicion that Indian batters are stats driven but Virat Kohli is one who could drive this,” wrote Lloyd in the Daily Mail.

It is to be noted that Kohli remains India’s greatest Test captain ever. He led India from 2015 to 2022 and infused a competitive and attacking mindset where the team didn’t only rely on spinners but formed a lethal pace-bowling attack and went for results rather than settling for draws. Under Kohli, India beat Australia in the 2018/19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, had an unassailable 2-1 lead over hosts England in the 2021 series (which ended in a 2-2 stalemate with Jasprit Bumrah leading in the final match), were highly competitive versus South Africa in their own den in 2018 and 2022 tours and remained a dominant force at home. 

India also played the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final under Kohli’s leadership and remained No. 1 ranked side in the format for a long time. At present, Rohit is India’s full-time captain after Kohli’s resignation early this year.