Regarding the current five-match Test series between England and India, Sourav Ganguly made a very significant forecast.
In a gripping Day 3 of their ongoing first Test match against India in Hyderabad on Saturday, England had a fighting chance thanks in large part to Ollie Pope’s unbroken 148*. On Day 3, England rallied with 316/6 at Stumps to take a 126-run lead in response to India’s 436 in their opening innings.
R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah both claimed two wicket hauls for the Indian bowling unit. Joe Root, meanwhile, took out Ravindra Jadeja (87) to start the day and claimed four wickets. Jasprit Bumrah was also deleted by Root.
A huge forecast regarding the current five-match Test series was made by Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of India and president of the BCCI. “India will prevail in the series; the question is if they will do so 4-0 or 5-0. Each test will be conclusive. If they had batted properly, England might have won this Test match. By scoring 230 or 240 runs on Indian territory, one cannot defeat India. They couldn’t have defeated India if they had managed to score 350 or 400. England is having a difficult series. There is no side that could make an impact here but Australia at that particular era,” he stated.
Because of its pace, Ganguly believes that England’s Bazball strategy won’t be effective in the opening Test. He also believed that Bazball is not well-suited to the spinning wickets of the subcontinent.
Ganguly also predicted something else, this time about the Twenty20 World Cup. “India’s chances of winning the T20 World Cup are good. India participated in the World Cup final recently, and their loss to Australia was heartbreaking. I wasn’t expecting them to lose after playing such a nice game the entire tournament, but that’s what happens in sports,” he remarked.
“One of the best sides is India. Given that America and the West Indies have similar conditions to India, there will be another possibility for India. The Indian Premier League will act as a warm-up for the World Cup,” he continued.
On Day 4, England will bat again under Pope and Rehan Ahmed (16*), who will try to extend their lead to 200 or more runs so that they may genuinely have a chance against India.
