'Bazball' Scared of Indian Batting? McCullum's Lord's Pitch Demand Leaves Indians Laughing

ENG vs IND: Decimated by the 336-run drubbing at Edgbaston, hosts England have grown wary of India’s solid batting unit, led by skipper Shubman Gill, who single-handedly amassed 430 runs in the match, batting the Ben Stokes-led side out of the game.

England head coach Brendon McCullum’s much-hyped ‘Bazball’ approach seems to have lost its shine as the Indian batters made the hosts realise the side effects of dishing out batting paradise in the first two Tests.

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England’s growing apprehension with their approach was reflected in McCullum’s pre-match remarks ahead of the third Test, which begins on Thursday at Lord’s. The Kiwi, who took over England’s top Test job in 2022 and is often credited with revolutionising the red-ball format with his aggressive batting display, expects the Lord’s surface to behave entirely differently from the first two games.

Asked what kind of pitch England would like at Lord’s, McCullum said, “Something with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways.”

“It'll be a blockbuster either way, but I think it's going to set up for a cracker - especially if there's plenty of life in it,” he added.

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Not just the pitch, the England coach is also worried about Jasprit Bumrah bolstering India’s pace attack after being rested in Birmingham.

“Bumrah will more than likely come back in for the next one, so we've just got to make sure we're well planned and well prepared and ready for the next challenge. It will be quite different, I imagine, to this surface, and that's probably a good thing for us,” McCullum concluded.

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Playing without their pace, spearhead Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep stepped up big time, dismissing 17 out of 20 English batters. With Bumrah back in the mix, India’s pace attack would become even more lethal, and England’s move to prepare a pitch conducive for fast bowlers could backfire.