'If you want to win a Test match, batters need to play big innings': Jwala Singh

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Jwala Singh, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s childhood coach, has offered a critical assessment of India’s performance so far in the Manchester Test as well as in the entire Anderson-Tendulkar trophy so far and suggested that the two-three batters must play longer innings, while the middle and lower order need to contribute more to the team's overall effort.

Reflecting on the top order’s contribution so far, Singh highlighted the efforts of Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, but noted the absence of a long, match-defining innings, which he believes is key for winning a Test match.

"If you look at the openers, Sai Sudharsan scored some runs, and Rishabh Pant, despite playing with an injury, also contributed. Yashasvi made runs, and a few other batters had short but useful innings. But if you want to win a Test match, one or two players need to play a big, long innings," Singh told IANS.

"The mistakes we made in the first Test match were repeated in the third Test. We needed more contributions from the middle and lower order. We won the second Test largely because of Shubman Gill’s big score. His innings played a major role in securing that win. The batters needed to take responsibility here as well, but unfortunately, they didn’t," he added.

India are currently trailing the five-match series 1-2 and were bowled out for 358 in the first innings of the fourth Test at Old Trafford. In response, half-centuries from Ben Duckett (94) and Zak Crawley (84) guided England to 225/2 in 46 overs at stumps, trailing India by 133 runs.

Discussing Day 2 of the ongoing Test, Singh shed light on England’s dominant approach with the bat and the challenges faced by the Indian side. "We put some runs on the board, but the total wasn’t as big as it should have been. England, in contrast, played aggressively, with a mindset more suited to one-day cricket. They scored quickly and reached 250 without losing a wicket.

"In the second and third Tests, we saw that the team batting in the fourth innings struggled. So if our batters can perform well in the third innings, and then our bowlers can follow up with a strong performance, we still have a chance," he said.

He concluded with a call for collective effort from Shubman Gill and Co. to shift the momentum of the match in their favour. "If we want to win this Test match, we’ll have to work very hard. The entire team needs to step up. Most importantly, we must try not to let England take too big a lead," said Singh.

--IANS

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