"To all intents and purposes, India should be 2-0 up" - Michael Atherton

Former England captain Michael Atherton believes India would have been 2-0 up in the five-match Test series against England had there been no rain on the fifth day of the first game at Trent Bridge.

India went into the final day of the first Test needing only 157 runs to win. But they had to settle for a draw after rain washed out the day's play. However, India put their disappointment behind them and bounced back in the second Test at Lord's, beating England by 152 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Reliving Lord's triumph from the dressing room 👏 👏The range of emotions, the reactions & the aura in the #TeamIndia dressing room post the historic win at the @HomeOfCricket. 👍 👍 - by @RajalArora Watch this special feature 🎥 👇 #ENGvINDhttps://t.co/9WFzGX4rDi pic.twitter.com/uR63cLS7j4

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 17, 2021

In contrast to the first Test, it was England who were in a commanding position heading into the final day at Lord's. But they completely lost the plot and decided to target tail-enders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami with bouncers.

The duo easily negated the short balls and added 89 runs for the ninth wicket to help India post a target of 272, which proved too much for England.

Atherton, for his part, was mighty impressed by India's performance on the fifth day at Lord's. According to the former England batsman, India left an "indelible impression" with their hunger to succeed.

"Although home sensibilities will focus, inevitably, on England's final day performance on Monday, which was by far unintilligent and then limp, it was India who left an indelible impression," Atherton wrote in his column for the Telegraph.

"The ferocity of their play, their will to win, and their skill to carry them through difficult moments, should have removed any doubts about how the Nottingham Test would have finished but for rain. To all intent and purposes, India should be 2-0 up," he added.

"All is not lost" - Michael Atherton on England's prospects in the series

Despite the chips being down, Michael Atherton believes the hosts can make a comeback. The former cricketer-turned-commentator reckons James Anderson and Joe Root will have a major role to play over the rest of the five-match series.

"Over two matches, England have competed for long periods, and this without some serious cricketers - Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes absent for two Tests and Stuart Broad for one. They have the benefit of two of their greatest cricketers, in James Anderson and Joe Root, and in Test cricket great players can make up a lot of ground for limitations elsewhere. All is not lost," Atherton said.

Thoughts on our squad for the third Test against India? 🤔🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/8w2U1EVRXw

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 18, 2021

"In short term, given the injuries and lack of domestic first-class cricket to provide alternatives, there is not a great deal to be done. They will (and should) make an alteration at the top of the order, if only to reiterate the principle that performance matters," Atherton added.

The third Test between India and England will take place at Headingley in Leeds from August 25.