"Wake-Up Call For India": England Great's Advice For Rohit Sharma And Co After Loss In 1st Test

The Hyderabad Test loss should serve as wake-up call for India that England's 'Bazball' strategy is effective on slow tracks as well, according to former captain Nasser Hussain. Since embracing Bazball, England are yet to lose a Test series and they fashioned a memorable 28-run win on the back of Ollie Pope's monumental 196 and debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley's seven-wicket haul after conceding a massive 190-run first innings lead in the opening Test against India. "India will probably rue their first innings. They got 436 but actually they could have got a lot more if not for some sloppy dismissals. They will come back. They are a very fine side and history tells you it will be tough for England," Hussain wrote in his column for 'Sky Sports'.

"But it is a wake-up call for India as England have shown Bazball can work in these conditions," he said, referring to England's ultra-aggressive approach under head coach Brendon McCullum.

Chasing 231 for victory, the Indian batters failed to put up a fight in the fourth innings.

"It shows they (England) have great self-belief. They have great belief in the way they are playing the game and do things their own way. They don't worry about outside noise, that other people would have selected other cricketers, that people thought they should have had warm-up matches.

"What I like about them is their stubbornness. If you doubt them, they'll double down on it and go even more stubborn. I think that is a good thing because if you're constantly listening to all the noise, all that's written and said, you flicker from one theory to another," Hussain wrote.

England vice-captian Pope embodied ‘Bazball' as he swept, reverse-swept and reverse-scooped deliveries with the formidable India