Monty Panesar convinced that England ‘will win by a 2-1 margin’

When England clinched a win in 2012, the margin was 2-1 and India had taken a lead. Monty Panesar, the slow and orthodox left-arm spinner was very much a part of the win that saw England become one of the few sides to defeat the Indians at home. While this was true, to say the least, Monty Panesar is back, not with the English cricket team, but as one who has enjoyed the pleasures of being a cricketer for England.

Panesar has come out stating that England could come out and pull off an unlikely 2-1 win over the Indians just as they had done 4 years ago. The 35-year old also believed that there was very little that stood between the Brits and winning the first two Test matches at Rajkot and Vizag while urging his former teammates to be aggressive against the Indians.

“I think England can win the series 2-1. They just need to win the key moments in a match which they haven’t done in Rajkot and Vizag. Everyone knows that it isn’t easy to beat India in India. However, they’ve failed to accelerate just when it was required the most. There is no point in being defensive against India, they need to attack right from the first ball,” said Panesar.

“Game moves on in a similar pattern on the first two days of a Test in India. We all know that. It is after that the team which accelerates has the maximum chance of winning. Maybe Cook is missing the third spinner. I am ready to join them, if not in the eleven then even to bowl in the nets. I so badly want to be in Mohali,” the 34-year-old said.

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Monty Panesar also went on to add that he had played some of his best cricket in the 2012 series at both Mumbai and Kolkata. “It is one of the best memories of my career, playing a big role in beating India in India. I remember the wicket in Mumbai was a rank turner and one in Kolkata was quite flat.

“Rahul Dravid had said at that point that my performance was one of the best he’s ever seen by a visiting spinner in the first innings of a Test in India. That was really inspiring. It isn’t easy to beat Indians at spin but I managed to do that against a quality batting line-up.”

He also went on to add a few words on Ravichandran Ashwin. “Good thing about him (Ashwin) is his temperament. He is not stressed out even when he’s struggling to get wickets. He has many variations and knows well how to exploit conditions, especially while bowling at home. He’s a street smart cricketer who bats well too. That’s the reason why Ashwin is key to India’s success.”

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