England's sensational win over Pakistan in Rawalpindi is another example how Test cricket should and needs to be played. On an absolute dud wicket, which had nothing for the bowlers, Ben Stokes led his team to a handsome 75-run win, bowling out Pakistan for 268 in the fourth innings. On a Day 5 pitch, it were fast bowlers Ollie Robinson and James Anderson who grabbed a four-wicket haul each to lead England to arguably their most famous away win.
The win has once again highlighted England's ultra-aggressive approach, famously known as 'Bazball'. The term was born when Brendon McCullum took over as their coach and has one after the other, produced stunning results across formats. It had a huge role to play in England bossing oppositions at home, winning the T20 World Cup and now beating Pakistan comprehensively on their soil.
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This approach has captivated the imagination of cricket fans worldwide, with former English cricketer David Lloyd comparing it to Australia and West Indies in their prime. Lloyd, however, pointed out that while there is currently no team playing quite like England, India is the only unit who have the wherewithal to emulate Stokes and Co.
"It is not totally new, of course. The Australian team of the 90s were very positive and the great West Indian sides were full of exhilarating stroke-makers. I reckon a team capable of this style now is India. They have all the tools. There has been a suspicion that Indian batters are stats driven but Virat Kohli is one who could drive this," the former cricketer-turned-commentator wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.
{{/usCountry}}"It is not totally new, of course. The Australian team of the 90s were very positive and the great West Indian sides were full of exhilarating stroke-makers. I reckon a team capable of this style now is India. They have all the tools. There has been a suspicion that Indian batters are stats driven but Virat Kohli is one who could drive this," the former cricketer-turned-commentator wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli gave up India's captaincy in January this year and it is unlikely that he will ever lead the team again. But that doesn't take away the fact that he was India's most successful Test captain of all time with 40 wins under his reign from 2014 to 2022. Kohli led India to domination overseas, winning its first Test series in Australia during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and captained the team gallantly in England last year, taking a 2-1 lead before the series concluded 2-2 in June this year.
Stokes had made a brave decision of declaring England’s second innings at 264/7, setting Pakistan a target of 343 in 100 overs, later pointing out that at no stage did he or his team thought of playing for a draw. To it, Michael Vaughan had tweeted: "I don't know of any Captain in the history of Test cricket that would have got his team to Bat like his team did and then declare when he did... unbelievable." It was not received well by Indian cricket fans, who reminded the former England captain of some of the courageous declaration calls taken by Kohli when he was in charge.