New Delhi: Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag heaped praise on the England aggressive style of Test cricket often dubbed as "Bazball" and contended that it comes with extra risk, citing the example of India-England second Test in Vizag.
With India and England Test series poised on 1-1, both teams eye an early lead by winning the third Test that underwent in Rajkot on Thursday. Sehwag emphasized England’s approach in the series and looked highly impressed with the way they bowled in the sub-continent conditions.
England left-arm spinner Hartley on his Test debut clinched nine wickets in the first match against India to help his side win by 28 runs. Riding on the back of Jaiswal’s double hundred and Shubman Gill's hundred India won the second match by 108 runs.
"The series is highly contested, both the teams look balanced with batters and bowlers playing their roles effectively. India bounced back in the second Test after an early setback, that is what Test cricket is all about. Players get every chance to express themselves and it is the competition that forces you to do. In the first Test, we saw young England debutant Tom Hartley's performance and in the very next match, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a double-hundred. This is what Test cricket gives you, you need to grab it from both hands,” said Sehwag to IANS in a virtual interaction.
When asked about England’s approach to Test cricket in recent years, Sehwag said: "I like the way they play, the fearless side of Test cricket is something that they have brought into the game. I love this approach, but at the same time, it comes with extra risk which we saw in the second Test. You will be left gutted with this approach of cricket in this format. But surely, England’s approach has injected adrenaline to the dying format."