India, who has leveled the five-match series 1-1, has been without Virat Kohli for the first two Tests due to personal reasons.
According to a report from ESPNcricinfo, Kohli is also set to miss the upcoming third and fourth Test matches in Rajkot and Ranchi, with doubts lingering over his availability for the final match in Dharamshala.Speaking to Sky Sports, Hussain highlighted the significance of Kohli’s aggression and assertive attitude in India’s batting lineup, stating, “He is an aggressive cricketer. He is an in-your-face cricketer, but actually, I think with the bat, in three of the four innings, India have not quite been ruthless as they would have liked to be.”
Hussain pointed out that India has faced issues with converting good starts into substantial scores, emphasizing that soft dismissals have left the team vulnerable. He underscored Kohli’s relentless pursuit of runs and winning games, highlighting the absence of such ruthlessness in India’s batting lineup.
“There have been some soft dismissals in that Indian batting lineup, and it has left him vulnerable at times. One thing Kohli is with batting is ruthless. He does not do soft dismissals. He is driven by getting runs and winning games. So, they will miss that. Any side would miss the class of Virat Kohli,” he said.
While praising individual performances by players like KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a double century in the series, Hussain stressed the importance of converting starts into big scores, echoing the sentiment that “30s and 40s do not win you Test matches.”
Reflecting on England’s batting woes in the second Test, Hussain emphasized the need for the team to rectify their issues with converting starts into substantial scores. He emphasized the importance of learning from India’s performance, particularly the ability to capitalize on strong starts with big innings.
As the third Test between both sides approaches, scheduled to commence from February 15 onwards in Rajkot, Hussain’s observations underscore the importance of India’s batting unit stepping up to fill the void left by Kohli’s absence and capitalizing on opportunities to secure decisive victories.
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(With inputs from ANI)