"England can't win Tests with only Joe Root getting runs" - Nasser Hussain

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes the hosts will find it difficult to win a Test match with only their skipper Joe Root scoring runs consistently. The comments came in the wake of England's humiliating defeat against India at the historic Lord's on Monday.

The cracks in England's fragile batting line-up were out in broad daylight against a world-class Indian pace attack. The hosts were bundled out for just 120 in the second innings to lose the match by 151 runs. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hussain stressed that other batters need to start contributing if England have to make a comeback in the series.

Amazing game of Cricket .. India today showed why they are so much better than England .. The belief to Win was immense .. #ENGvsIND

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 16, 2021

Hussain asserted:

"England did play a lot of good cricket at Lord's, let's not forget that. When Rishabh Pant was walking off on Monday we all thought it could be 1-0 to England. India do have frailties in their batting. But England can't win Tests with just one player in Root getting runs."

"Robinson has been an incredible find when there have been so many injuries to bowlers. So let's not write them off just yet, but they desperately need others to score runs," he added.

England's top three batsmen have had horrid outings in recent times. Rory Burns has only managed 617 runs in 12 outings since 2020 while Dom Sibley has scored only 917 runs from 19 Test matches in the last two years.

Thought that Rory Burns dismissal looked familiar… #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/NUc0OAUQLn

— James Pavey (@jamespavey_) August 16, 2021

Haseeb Hameed, who came into the playing XI at the expense of Zak Crawley at Lord's, also failed to make a lasting impression. Hameed registered a golden duck in the first innings and only scored nine runs in the second.

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"Test cricket at its absolute best" - Nasser Hussain on heated Day 5 at Lord's

Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler have a go at each other

Fans were treated to some end-to-end cricket at Lord's with players giving their all to win the well-contested Test match. The cricketers from both sides had a couple of fiery exchanges but Nasser Hussain felt everything was well within the line.

"No. I love the way Kohli plays his cricket and this India side will not be bullied. The theatre and drama was exceptional."

"You don't want people to get physical but we didn't see that at Lord's. It's a heated game and there is a lot on the line. I loved what was going on out there over the five days. It was box office — Test cricket at its absolute best," Hussain concluded.

With India 1-0 ahead, the third match of the series will commence on August 25 at Headingley in Leeds.