India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to go for a draw against the West Indies in the third Test has given England the psychological advantage ahead of the series between the two sides, says former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer.
Engineer, a United Kingdom resident, said the English media and the cricketers have already started playing mind games on the Dhoni-Fletcher’s surprising decision that faced flak.
“Psychologically, the English feel, they have got the advantage. The media here have already made an issue out of it and the English cricketers like Graeme Swann and Alastair Cook have been firing from their mouths.
“Had we won that match, it would have given us an immense boost. I have already run out of excuses. I don’t know what Fletcher was thinking,” Engineer told DNA from England.
“Dhoni should have promoted himself and Harbhajan and got those runs to give that killer blow,” he said.
However, the 46-Test veteran added, “Past is past. Dhoni and Co should now look forward to the big series instead of thinking of that draw.
“The India-England series is going to be one hell of a contest. Both teams have been in great form and all the four matches here are going to be mouth-watering contests,” he said.
Engineer said that despite the much-criticised draw, India will start favourites against England. “We are coming into the tour as world champions. We have a very balanced team. Obviously, we have a great batting line-up in Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Gambhir and Dhoni.
“Now, our bowling has also started showing up. Zaheer will be our main guy, while Ishant Sharma has returned to form and is doing extremely well. Praveen Kumar has been swinging the ball and is handy. Bhajji, too, is back in form,” Engineer added.
The 73-year-old said that the Indian batsmen should be on their toes when they bat on the greentops. “They will roll out a green carpet for Indians and there will be no room for complacency and you will have to be on the toes all the time.
“England have some of the best seamers in their armoury. Handling Chris Tremlett will be a tough task for the Indians. Then, there is James Anderson, who can swing the ball beautifully. Swann won’t be as threatening as others because Indians are good players of spin,” he opined.
India will go into the first Test without Virender Sehwag, but Engineer is confident that India will do well.
“Gambhir has always been good. Abhinav Mukund may have struggled early on in the Windies but he showed signs of improvement,” he added.
Engineer said that fielding would be the key and England is a better fielding side. “They are a very good fielding side. India have also improved but we have been dropping catches at the slip cordon and that is the area we need to improve upon,” he added.
The Mumbai-born Parsi has put his money on England. “It will be 60-40. The odds are for India. I won’t like to predict, but for me, India are favourites.”
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