England collapse, losing eight for eight, in final T20I defeat to India
Wednesday 1 February 2017 19:19, UK
Nasser Hussain criticised England's playing of spin after they collapsed - losing eight wickets for eight runs - in defeat to India in the third T20I.
Hussain said their "old nemesis" against leg spin returned as Yuzvendra Chahal took 6-25 to secure a 2-1 series win for the hosts.
Chasing 203 to win, Eoin Morgan (40) and Joe Root (42) helped England into a strong position of 119-2 in the 14th over before both fell to consecutive deliveries to trigger the collapse, with Hussain particularly critical of Root's 'frenetic' end to his innings.
"It was quite remarkable, said Hussain. "It was their old nemesis, leg spin, once again. A six-for in a T20 game for Chahal is unbelievable.
"When Suresh Raina bowled, and Morgan was picking him, he just ran down the pitch and belted him straight back over his head for six - he got 22 off that over.
"But the moment the leg-spinners come on and bowling these subtle variations, England are fearful of hitting straight, so they go square with the sweep, or the slog-sweep, and that brings in the top edge.
"England suffered a little bit mentally today as well, which came from Root - they'd just taken 22 off that Raina over and then Joe had only three or four balls where he didn't score, but he got so frenetic that pressure built.
"That pressure then transferred from himself onto Morgan - the skipper went, Root went, and then it was chaos after that.
"Joe is a wonderful player, but sometimes he just gets frenetic at the crease, instead of taking a deep breath and learning from MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh's innings' earlier in the evening.
Dhoni (56 off 36 balls) - who scored his first T20I half-century in his 76th game - had only five runs from his first eight balls, while Yuvraj (27 off 10) had five from his first five deliveries.
Hussain feels it is their experience in T20 franchise leagues like the IPL that helped them not to panic and ultimately make telling contributions.
"Sometimes, even targeting 200, you can give yourself two or three deliveries," Hussain added. "Dhoni didn't go straight away - he just knocked it, knocked it, knocked it and then he went.
"I'm often asked why Root does not go on to make hundreds, and its sometimes because even when he's on 80-odd he just looks like he wants to get to the end product a little bit quicker than he needs to.
"Players have got to take a bit of responsibility, and Root needs to learn. He has time! He is such a class player, that on a pitch like this, he will catch up.
"Joe has not put himself up for the IPL, he's going to go home. But hopefully the more of our players that play around the world in these franchise games, in front of big crowds, they will realise that sometimes you can just soak up the pressure and it doesn't have to be all-action cricket.
"I applaud England's dynamic style, and It sounds very odd to say it after they've just lost eight for eight, but I still think they are a very good batting line-up.
"But with the scoreboard pressure, once they lost one or two, with the batsmen lower down needing 13-14 runs an over, that sort of collapse is bound to happen, albeit not eight for eight!
"A lot of good things have come out of this tour, but also a lot of the same old problems - like the playing of spin, and legspin in particular - have resurfaced."
