England lost all rhythm, batted like 'startled rabbits': Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain came down heavily on England's batsmen after the visitors succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat in the Pink-ball Test against India at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.

The third match of the series finished in just two days after England failed to deal with the wily deliveries of Indian spin twins Axar Patel (6/38 & 5/32) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/26 & 4/48). Joe Root's men were all out for just 81 runs in their second innings, leaving India with just 49 runs to get for an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series.

Speaking on the 'Sky Sports Cricket Podcast', Nasser Hussain compared the English batters to 'startled rabbits' and felt that even though the Ahmedabad pitch was tough to bat on, it did not warrant getting out on such a low score.

"England looked like startled rabbits in that second innings. I don't think it was an 81 all-out pitch but this was a much tougher pitch than Chennai."

England batsmen lost rhythm after batting on two tough pitches: Nasser Hussain

Jonny Bairstow gets bowled by Axar Patel (Image courtesy BCCI)

Before the mauling in Ahmedabad, England had suffered a 317-run loss in the second Test at Chennai after failing to cross 200 runs in both the innings there as well. Nasser Hussain added that batting on two tough surfaces had caused the English batsmen to lose rhythm.

"Especially on this pitch, where one spins prodigiously and the other skids on, you lose all kind of rhythm. That's what successive Test matches on these sorts of pitches do for your mindset."

2-2 will be a good result but England have to score big in the 1st innings of the 4th Test: Nasser Hussain

After winning the first Test match by a huge margin of 227 runs, England would have felt quite upbeat about their chances in the 4-match series. However, the astonishing way in which they have capitulated in the following two games has meant that they go into the 4th Test with quite a few scars.

But with the next game happening on the same ground, England's batsmen will do well to come up with some sort of a strategy to combat India's two As - Axar and Ashwin. The pair has combined to take 42 off the 60 English wickets to fall so far and have a huge mental edge over Joe Root's men going into the finale.

The day-night #INDvENG Test match is now the shortest completed Test match since World War 2 😮 More stats from the game 👉 https://t.co/NoCd15aQpI pic.twitter.com/3Mtg6G65b8

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 26, 2021

Nasser Hussain feels that England can still bounce back in the final game and that a 2-2 scoreline against India will be a good result for the visitors. However, for that to happen, they have to put up a good score in the first innings in the final test.

"They have to find a way. The carrot is there, 2-2 with India will not be a bad result at all. Although I know that is a long way away when England haven't reached 200 in five innings. They have to get a score in the first innings", concluded Nasser Hussain.