India has the best chance to win series in England: Dilip Vengsarkar

Tags: India tour of England, 2021, India, England, Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar

Published on: May 31, 2021

Former Indian batsman Dilip Vengsarkar feels that the upcoming tour of England will be India’s best chance to win a series in England since they have a very good batting as well as bowling line-up. India will play six Tests during their tour of England, beginning with the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, followed by five Tests against the hosts. India have not won a Test series in England since 2007, when Rahul Dravid was the captain and Vengsarkar the chief selector.

In an interview with CricketNext, Vengsarkar stated, “In 2007, I was the chairman of the selection committee when we won the Test series in England. Happy memories. This is the best chance for Kohli and his team as he has a good bowling attack too. We have got good batters. India has the best chance to win the series.”

Vengsarkar has an excellent record in England, where he scored four centuries, including three in his first three appearances at Lord’s Cricket ground. Asked how India’s batters should tackle England’s bowling challenge, the former cricketer replied, “It has got to do with getting acclimatised to the conditions. Spending as much time as possible in the middle is vital. In the olden days, we had the advantage as we used to have more county games before the Test matches and in between Tests. That definitely helped to get used to the conditions.”

”The ball moves around quite a lot in English conditions. The conditions are overcast most of the time. The ball grips on the wicket also. It swings a lot. You have to be more careful when driving the ball on the up or through the offside. If you go for the big drives, when the ball moves, it is going to take the edge off the bat. You have to be more careful when playing those shots. Pushing for ones and twos to start with will definitely help. Staying side-on most of the time also helps. Because of the movement of the ball, you are in a better position to play the shot,” Vengsarkar further explained on how India’s batsmen should deal with the conditions in England.

The 65-year-old also admitted that New Zealand will have the advantage in the WTC final as they would have already played two Tests against England. Vengsarkar added, “Of course, New Zealand will have an advantage because they play two Tests before the WTC final. It will help them. How quickly India adapts to the conditions will be important. But, New Zealand would have already had two Tests experience and would be playing in their third Test on the trot against India, while it will be the first on the tour for Kohli And Co.”

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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