December 8, 2001	Saturday	Ramazan 22, 1422

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NEW DELHI, Dec 7: England will have to considerably lift their performance in the remaining two Tests against India to avoid a clean sweep, former Indian cricketers said Friday.

Nasser Hussain’s Englishmen Thursday lost the opening Test by 10 wickets at Mohali, batting, bowling and fielding much below par to give India a big advantage in the three-match series.

“If England do not improve dramatically, we could witness a repeat of the 1993 series at home, when England were swept away 3-0,” said former Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

He said England’s batsmen seemed to have no clue about tackling Indian spinners in the first Test because they were neither positive in their methods nor solid in defence.

“Unless the English batsmen pick themselves up, this could be one of the most disappointing series in recent times,” said Srinath.

“Cricket is all about two sides fighting every inch of the way, and when one of the teams is unable to make a match of it, the game in terms of a contest falls apart.

“The match reiterated the fact that Indians are kings at home, with the batsmen breathing easy and the spinners weaving their web. It is a very different king of battle.”

England were undone by India’s spin twins, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, managing just 238 and 235 on a pitch that was flat and full of runs.

Leg-spinner Kumble, adjudged man of the match, and off-spinner Harbhajan never allowed the English batsmen to settle down as they shared 15 wickets to script an easy Indian victory.

Former all-rounder Ravi Shastri said England had squandered an opportunity at Mohali because they would not get such a good pitch in the next two Tests at Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

“To make less than 250 in each innings on a wicket that played reasonably well by Indian standards, and the failure to restrict India to 350 or thereabouts suggests there is a lot of hard work ahead for England,” Shastri said.

“In many ways, this was the most sporting wicket England will get on this tour. From here onwards, things will only get difficult.”

Shastri added that England needed an extra specialist batsman in the next two matches, considering their batting failure against the Indian spinners at Mohali.

Former Test off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna, however, was not carried away by the win, saying the script would have been different had India played South Africa at the same venue.

“The overwhelming victory is more due to the England team’s incompetence rather than the competence of our guys. This is the weakest England bowling I have ever seen,” said Prasanna.—AFP