"The Indian team needs to take his wicket" - Irfan Pathan suggests a plan against star batter heading into ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India player Irfan Pathan has noted that the Indian team needs to dismiss Ben Duckett quickly in the second Test against England. He suggested a plan the Indian bowlers could follow to get the better of the England opener.

Duckett scored 62 runs off 94 deliveries in the first innings and a 170-ball 149 in the second innings in England's five-wicket win in the first Test against India in Leeds. The second game of the five-match series will be played in Birmingham from Wednesday, July 2, onwards.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan,' the former India all-rounder pointed out that Duckett is becoming the visitors' nemesis, highlighting that the opener countered Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja very well in the first Test.

"What will be the Indian team's plan against their most dangerous player, Ben Duckett? He has scored more than 500 Test runs against India. He is a headache for the Indian team. The best thing I liked about him was the way he played Bumrah and Jadeja. The Indian team needs to take his wicket," he said (10:15).

Pathan urged the Indian bowlers to look to trap the left-handed opener lbw by bowling full, with Arshdeep Singh, if he is part of the playing XI, having the chance to get him caught behind the wickets too.

"What can be the plan against him? From start to finish, until his innings lasts, bowl only full to him. Ask him to keep hitting towards mid-off and mid-on, and the bowlers' aim should be to get him out lbw. If you keep bowling that length, and Arshdeep plays, he can get the outside edge as well," he observed.

Irfan Pathan noted that the Indian bowlers need to adjust both their line and length against Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, pointing out that they are not only left and right-handed but also have contrasting heights. He added that if the visitors can get an early breakthrough, the other England batters can get trapped, highlighting that Ravindra Jadeja would have dismissed Harry Brook in the first innings had Rishabh Pant taken the catch.

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"He will have to increase his stature in terms of performance" - Irfan Pathan on Ravindra Jadeja ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Ravindra Jadeja picked up a solitary wicket in the first Test against England. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Irfan Pathan noted that Ravindra Jadeja needs to perform better with the ball in the second Test against England.

"Jadeja's role will be very important, but he will have to increase his stature in terms of performance. He picked up only four wickets in Australia in three Test matches. He didn't get wickets in two innings. In the home series that we lost against New Zealand, the New Zealand spinners bowled better than the Indian spinners, and Jadeja was there," he said (12:55).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Jadeja also needs to be slightly aggressive while batting with the lower order and that Team India need to grab their catches.

"So Jadeja will have to do better. Even in batting, he will have to show aggression while batting with the tail, which, I feel, he is unable to do at times. You will also have to pay a lot of attention to catching. You need to take catches, as catches win matches," Pathan observed.

Ravindra Jadeja went wicketless in 23 overs in England's first innings of the Leeds Test and registered figures of 1/104 in 24 overs in the second innings. He scored 11 runs off 15 deliveries in the first innings and remained unbeaten on a 40-ball 25 in the second innings, with the lower-order batters getting dismissed at the other end.