Nasser Hussain throws light on India’s top-order woes

India won the third ODI against England at Old Trafford on July 17, Sunday, and also clinched their first ODI series in England since 2014. India also won the T20I series 2-1 and drew the Test series 2-2 on the tour. However, former England captain Nasser Hussain highlighted Indian batters’ struggles against left-arm seamers. Notably, the Men in Blue suffered a 100-run defeat in the second ODI, wherein Reece Topley took a six-fer. 

Hussain said that India are a very strong team but need to learn from the past. He reckons that India were “timid” with the bat in the last T20 World Cup in UAE. He said that the top-order do not have to be timid when they have players Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja to follow.

“India are a very strong team, but they need to learn from what happened in the past. In the last T20 World Cup in the UAE, they were a bit timid with the bat, so they need to stop being that,” said Hussain after the third ODI on Sony Sports Network. 

Reece Topley has blown them away here: Nasser Hussain

“When you have Pandya and Pant in the middle order and then Jadeja that rope to follow, you don’t need to be timid at the top,” said the former England skipper. “They need to play to left-arm (pacers) a little bit better. History tells you that Shaheen Shah Afridi blew them away one evening in Dubai.”

Hussain also recalled the Indian top-order’s struggle against left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir in the 2017 Champions Trophy at The Oval, where India lost its top three batters to Amir within the first nine overs. He said that Amir blew them away that afternoon on June 18, 2017. “And Reece Topley has blown them away here (at Old Trafford),” he said.

“Their batting, Virat Kohli will be fine. Once he is out of the break, he will be absolutely fine. They are positioned nicely. They just got to play ICC tournaments just like they play bilateral tournaments,” opined Hussain about India’s chances in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

India won the ODI in Manchester by five wickets, chasing a target of 260, courtesy of a fifth-wicket partnership by Pant and Pandya, which added 133 runs on board. Next in store for India is a tour to West Indies for three ODIs and five T20Is.