“INDIA MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE WITH PRASIDH KRISHNA — HE’S DOING THE BEST HE CAN, AND WITH TIME, HE MIGHT GET BETTER” – SANJAY MANJREKAR

Speaking on ‘Match Centre Live’ after the first session on Day 3 of the first Test, JioHotstar expert Sanjay Manjrekar shared his assessment of Prasidh Krishna’s spell:

 “If you see Prasidh Krishna in this Test match as opposed to the Test he played for India earlier in South Africa, he’s looked the best to me. Yesterday, although he didn’t quite get the wickets, he was still India’s number two seamer. He was better than Mohammed Siraj, certainly more potent than Shardul Thakur. So, India made the right choice and went for him; this is Prasidh Krishna doing the best he can. With time, if he gets a couple of wickets and builds confidence, he might just get better and better. I will not be critical of Prasidh Krishna with the way he’s bowled — he has done everything he possibly could to the best of his ability.”

 JioHotstar expert Deep Dasgupta also reflected on Prasidh Krishna’s performance:

 “My only concern with Prasidh is the consistency on a flattish pitch that we have here, at Headingley. You have got to come in and bowl the right channel, over after over — and that’s where I think Prasidh has given up a few more boundary deliveries than you would want him to. That’s been the challenge. He’s bowled good deliveries, but not consistently enough. We’ve always talked about Prasidh’s natural length, and especially against batters, who love playing their shots and have an array of options available to them, it becomes a little difficult. So, every now and then, you’d see him leaking runs. That’s the reason you see that kind of economy rate.”

 JioHotstar expert Nick Knight weighed in on Harry Brook’s approach during the session:

 “I think we are seeing an adaptation of the very best of Harry Brook. When we’ve watched him and admired his skills over the years, we’ve often noticed the high strike-rate at which he scores in Test cricket, the audacious shots, and his aggressive approach. But, this felt like a more refined version of Harry Brook, and I like what I see. I think he’s playing the match situation really well. I also liked how, in the first over or two, he danced down the pitch to Jasprit Bumrah and said, ‘Look, you may be the number one bowler in the world, but I’m pretty good too — I’m the number two batter in the world.’ That signalled a good contest, that he wasn’t just going to sit back. There was much to admire in that knock, but what stood out most to me was how well he read the game situation and tried to build partnerships. He’s smart and astute. We talk a lot about ‘Bazball’ — but there wasn’t a huge amount of that in this session. And that’s the point I want to make: the approach is constantly refining itself, and I think English batters played the situation well.”

 Catch Day 4 of the first Test of India’s tour of England, tomorrow at 3:30 PM, live on JioHotstar