Who said what - top 5 expert reactions on India's insipid bowling on Day 2 of ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test ft. Dinesh Karthik 

Team India were expected to mount a serious challenge after battling their way to post 358 in the first innings of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford, Manchester. The English bowlers, particularly Ben Stokes, had showcased that there is something in the surface for the bowlers, but a different picture was on show when it was Team India's turn to bowl.

Denied the luxury of overcast conditions, the new ball bowlers could not deter the English openers. However, the lack of cloud cover does not justify their erratic bowling on a consistent basis. Missing their areas regularly meant that there was hardly any pressure on Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley.

A familiar story unfolded as Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers by far, while the rest of the bowling unit struggled to keep up. England coasted to 225-2 after 46 overs of play, trailing India's first innings total by only 133 runs,

On that note, let us take a look at the top 5 expert reactions on India's insipid bowling on Day 2 of ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test.

#1 Dinesh Karthik

The former India wicket-keeper felt that the bowlers overcompensated by bowling into Ben Duckett's body, with poor execution. The left-handed batter easily picked off the deliveries on the leg stump, scoring a bulk of his runs through flicks and nudges, as the bowlers failed to contain him.

Duckett scored 94 runs off 100 deliveries before being dismissed by Anshul Kamboj towards the end of the day. His high strike rate reflects how poorly India bowled to him.

"They went a touch too straight, and he kept picking them off from the leg side, and that's one of his biggest strengths. India would look back on that session and think, 'What could we have done better?' Straight away the thing that you would say is, 'Can you bowl on off side'? Imagine 55 per cent of his runs (came on the leg side), that's a lot to give on the leg, isn't it?" Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

"With a bowling attack like Bumrah and Siraj, you've played upwards of 40 Tests, not to have that experience and understand why we should be doing this, we'd much rather err on this side. To be fair, it's hard to bowl to Ben Duckett because your margin of error is very little, but they did err a lot on line than on length," he added.

#2 R Ashwin

The former spinner outlined two major aspects of India's bowling in the first innings. First was the decision to hand the debutant, Anshul Kamboj, the new ball instead of the established Mohammed Siraj. Secondly, he also reflected on Washington Sundar not being introduced into the attack on Day 2.

"Shubman Gill gave the new ball to Anshul Kamboj, and that is highly debatable. I can see why Shubman gave him the new ball, there are two reasons for that, Anshul Kamboj is a good exponent, his wrist position is good, he can swing the ball both ways, and Siraj has the ability to bowl well with the old ball. So, I can see merit in that (decision)," Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel

"What I found the most surprising today was that Washington Sunar was not given an over. That was hugely surprising. Last innings at Lord's he picked up four wickets and ample control. Washington always bowls with control, and in today's game, where the run rate was over five runs an over, he was not given the ball only. I admit that Jadeja was brought on, he is the senior bowler and all that, but Sundar could have been given 3-4 overs from the other end," he added.

#3 Aakash Chopra

The former India opener felt that the bowling attack was 'light' despite having six bowling options, which in itself is surplus to requirement. He sympathized with Gill as he copped blame for not bringing on Washington Sundar into bowl. Chopra noted how difficult it is to manage six bowlers in a Test, and somebody will inevitably end up being underbowled.

"England exposed our gaps a bit, to be very honest. Jadeja got us the first breakthrough with some defensive bowling, while Kamboj got one towards the end, but we looked quite light. It was also sunny when they batted, and they are quite ahead in this game now," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"In the end, you need bowlers that can get you 20 wickets. Although we have six bowlers for the sake of it, but the sixth bowler (Washington Sundar) did not even come onto bowl. You did not give him even one over out of 45. This is the same Sundar that picked four wickets at Lord's, but I don't blame the captain. When there are so many bowlers, you can you give overs to everyone? Six bowlers are not required in general," he added.

#4 Murali Kartik

The former India spinner felt that the drastic change in conditions cannot be used as an excuse to defend the poor bowling on show. He even questioned Jasprit Bumrah's potency while bowling, and remarked that the bowlers were clueless against Ben Duckett.

"When India came to bowl the sun was out. So what? Indian bowlers have bowled and done very well in hotter conditions. They were very inconsistent with their lines today. Even with Bumrah, there was not that sharpness that we usually see, but despite that he as economical. But look at the economies of other bowlers. This is not okay given the conditions," Murali Kartik said on Cricbuzz.

"Washington Sundar bowled really well in the last match. I thought after that the captain would have more faith in him. But England are close to 250 and Washington has not even bowled yet. I am surprised by this. Also at one point the Indian bowling looked confused as to where to bowl, particularly to Ben Duckett. I don't think they have understood yet where to bowl to him," he added.

#5 Ravi Shastri

The former India head coach suggested that had he still been in the role, he would have had some harsh words with the bowling unit after the performance they showed. He reckoned that the bowling coach needs to have a conversation with the players to rectify the situation.

"Just not consistent enough. They will look back at this session and see, especially some of the boundary deliveries, that it's pretty ordinary stuff, at times rubbish,” he said on air (via NDTV).

“Maybe get the local lingo in there, which can sound harsher. Some harsh words will be exchanged by the coach and the bowling coach. That's how he puts it across. It's different. If he can't, then you step in and say exactly the same," he added.