Nasser Hussain said that he is looking forward to the battle between Virat Kohli and James Anderson in the ongoing Test series between India and England.
Anderson missed the first Test in Hyderabad, but picked up 5 wickets in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. Kohli, on the other hand, pulled out of the first 2 Tests due to ‘personal reasons’ and there is no update on his return for the last 3 Tests.
“I hope he does come back because the only thing this series has been missing is the battle between Kohli and Jimmy Anderson. I’m looking forward to that,” Hussain said in a Q&A session for the Daily Mail.
Anderson has had Kohli’s numbers quite a few times in international cricket, having dismissed the Indian batter 10 times in 37 matches. In Test cricket, Anderson has dismissed Kohli 7 times in 25 matches.
Hussain said that if Kohli plays the last 3 Tests, a more ruthless version of the Indian team can be seen on the field.
“The one thing about India is that in three of their four innings they have been a bit sloppy. I know Rahul Dravid, and he would have been ticking inside at some of the dismissals so far. India will think, ‘We keep on giving England a sniff here, let’s be more ruthless’. And the one thing Kohli is, is absolutely ruthless,” Hussain said.
Bairstow needs to convert one of his starts: Nasser Hussain
Hussain also reckoned that Jonny Bairstow should try and put his head down to convert his starts. In 2 Tests, Bairstow has scored only 157 runs at an average of 24.50 with a top score of 37 to his name.
“Bairstow’s an excellent player and just needs to convert one of his starts. It wasn’t just him. All of the England batters got in and got out again in Vizag. Jonny will know if Brook does go to India he will need to be clinical and get a big score. But this England side have shown faith in players and I expect them to show faith in Bairstow,” Hussain added.
With the series level at 1-1, India and England will lock horns in the third Test to be played from February 15 at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot.
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