IND vs ENG: ‘No ultra-attacking, our batsmen are attacking by nature,’ says Rahul Dravid on Bazball

Ahead of Test series it is quite common to hear about coaches speaking about batting approaches. Some demand them to show intent. Some back their players to go aggressive. There are instances where they are told to be bold. And then there is the entire Bazball approach, which has even managed to find a place in Collins dictionary. As India are set to embrace the Bazball challenge at home starting Thursday, India head coach Rahul Dravid’s message to the batting group was rather simple: play to the situation.

Ever since Bazball took Test cricket by storm, other teams have been faced with this question as to whether they would be tempted to adopt the same approach. With India set to roll out turners — where invariably a ball with your name on it could arrive any moment – adopting an aggressive approach with the bat has helped batsmen get out of jail. In fact, last time England visited India, Rohit Sharma’s century in the first innings at Chennai (second Test) proved to be a game-changer.

However, Dravid said India will not have any fixed plan, especially with regards to adopting an aggressive game. “By nature most of our players are attacking in nature. I don’t think we are going out there to try to be ultra-attacking,” said the former India captain, who is the last one to win a Test series in England.

“I think we look to play what’s in front of us, what the situation demands, what it calls for. By nature, if you look at our top six-seven batsmen, there are a lot of guys who are naturally positive and look to take the game on. So, they’re not going to be looking to change that in any particular way. There’ll be some different situations in which we may need to look to push the game along or we might have to bat for long periods. We’ll just respond to what comes in front of us. But I can’t see any of my batsmen taking a backward step or looking to be defensive,” Dravid said of the batting group which will be without Virat Kohli for the first two Tests.

Going on the defensive on turning tracks has seen teams, including India, to get into a shell. And on such pitches when wickets fall in a heap, teams have found themselves in deep trouble, which is why some of the batsmen prefer to counter-attack their way out of trouble.

During the last Test series held at home, Australia’s only win against all odds came when they counter-attacked against Indian spinners at Indore. Travis Head blasted a 53-ball 49 in the fourth innings chase with 6 fours to make it a breeze. When they mean bazball, England could well be talking about such knocks; not slogging. And more importantly, during the WTC final at the Oval, it was Head’s aggressive knock of 163, especially the unbeaten 146 of 156 deliveries on Day 1 while coming in at Australia placed at 76/3, that landed early blows on India. Such types of knocks on turners can tend to be a virtual knockout blow.

And when England last won a Test series here in 2012, it was Kevin Pietersen’s counter-attacking knock of 186 at Mumbai that proved to be the one that tilted the scales and from there on, the hosts couldn’t arrest the slide.

England might well look at Australia’s Indore blueprint from last March. Indians were bowled for 109, with the inexperienced left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann taking a five-for. Australia got a 88-run lead before Nathan Lyon took a 8-wicket haul to once again bowl out India for a paltry score.

While India may not adopt an ultra-aggressive approach, their bowlers will definitely be tested by one from England. “They have been playing very good cricket but we know that it’s going to be a challenge for them in these conditions as well. These are conditions we know very well, these are conditions where we have got experience in our attack. Everyone is looking forward to watching it. I’m looking forward to how our boys respond. When put under pressure, they respond positively,” Dravid said.

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