'I think, even watching now, Bumrah is bowling from the wrong end'
'I think they were tactically off as well'
India unravelled on Day 2 of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, their bowling plans in disarray and tactical calls under scrutiny.
England’s openers seized control early, punishing wayward lines and questionable decisions—most notably the move to hand debutant Anshul Kamboj the new ball ahead of Mohammed Siraj. With pressure absent and execution sloppy, India surrendered the initiative in a session that set the tone for the day.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting offered no clemency while dissecting India’s dreadful execution of plans with the ball on the second day of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Even though the conditions offered less assistance to India than to their counterparts, they were severely hampered after missing a trick with the new ball. The Indian seamers strayed off their lines, leaking runs heavily and allowing England's opening pair, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, to jump all over them and cause a constant headache for captain Shubman Gill.
Ponting was left unimpressed with India’s tactical ploy. In his ruthless verdict, he expressed his discontent with the decision to hand the new ball to debutant Anshul Kamboj ahead of mainstay Mohammed Siraj. While Bumrah managed to keep a lid on England's scoring rate, Kamboj was hammered relentlessly.
“They got scored off on both sides of the wicket, didn’t they? You know, we broadly talked then about how they bowled to Pope. I think they were tactically off as well. I don’t think Kamboj should have taken the new ball. Yeah, I didn’t like that from the start. And Duckett’s five of his first six boundaries were behind square on the leg side. So they got it tactically wrong there,” Ponting said on Sky Sports.
Ponting didn’t spare Bumrah either, for charging at the English batters from the Anderson End, while the other bowlers thrived from the Statham End—deepening India’s tactical missteps.
“I think, even watching now, Bumrah is bowling from the wrong end. Most of the wickets have fallen from the Statham End, and he’s done most of his work from the Anderson End. So they’ve been off execution-wise, and I think tactically they've been off a little bit as well,” he concluded.
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