2nd Test: India's short ball tactic let English batters off the hook, says Trott

With short boundaries in place, India’s short-ball ploy didn’t work as Smith stood tall to hit an 80-ball century, the joint-third fastest Test hundred by an England batter, including plundering 23 runs came off the 32nd over by tall pacer Prasidh Krishna, who gave away 61 runs in the eight overs he bowled in the first session.

“That partnership at the start was very much under pressure, but as soon as India switched to the short-ball tactic, it actually let the English batsmen off the hook. They’re always going to take the short ball on.”

“And once the runs started flowing — as anyone who's watched cricket knows — that’s when the pressure starts to ease, and they can play their natural game. Even if one of them gets caught on the boundary, it’s not a big deal. The next guy will come in and likely do the same thing,” said Trott on JioHotstar.

Similar views were echoed by former India fast bowler Varun Aaron. “I think India allowed this counterpunch by the English batsmen. If you see what worked really well for India last evening and even this morning, it was bowling at the right length.”

“But the moment India got Stokes' wicket, they got a bit too aggressive on a flat wicket. Too many bouncers, too many short balls. On a slow pitch, when none of your bowlers are consistently pushing the 145 kph mark, you cannot afford to bowl that many short deliveries.”

“Indian bowlers have the skill to keep it on that ideal length — keep hitting the stumps. Sustained pressure is what gets you wickets. You can't expect things to happen immediately all the time,” he elaborated.

Aaron was also left in awe of Smith’s breath-taking batting display. “Jamie Smith is a gifted and very brave batter. He’s not hesitating to take on the challenge at all. With almost six to seven fielders packed on the leg side, it takes real courage to play those shots.”

“It shows how much belief he has in his ability and the trust the team has placed in him. He’s a talented player, not just in red-ball cricket but in the white-ball format too. Bright days ahead — but he’ll need to convert this into a daddy hundred.”