Nothing England can do to bully India now even if coach Silverwood says so: Nasser Hussain ahead of third Test

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Joe Root’s side can do very little to ‘bully’ Virat Kohli’s India going ahead in the series. After a heated second Test at Lord’s, which India won by 151 runs, England head coach Chris Silverwood had said that his side will continue to fight fire with fire and try to hit back hard at India in the remaining three matches. But Hussain doesn’t think it is likely that England will be able to get under the skin of the Kohli-led Indian side.

“Nothing England can do will bully them now even if Chris Silverwood has said he will fight Indian fire with fire for the rest of this series,” Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

Tempers flared multiple times between the two sides in the Lord’s Test but it was India, led by an aggressive Kohli that got the better of England both in the verbal duels and also in the battle of bat and ball.

“This India are not a side who will be bullied, as perhaps previous generations have been. They wouldn't allow themselves to be bullied by Aussie players or crowds — when Tim Paine said, "Wait until we get you to the Gabba", it just spurred them on.

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“That comment from Paine was aimed at a player who hasn't featured against England, Ravi Ashwin, but he is another who will be as feisty as they come if he plays in the third Test at Headingley on Wednesday. All their players have great self-belief,” Hussain said citing the example of India’s magnificent series victory against all odds earlier this year in Australia.

Hussain credited Kohli for this changed attitude of the current Indian side, calling him the ‘right man’ to lead the ‘formidable Indian side’.

“Virat Kohli is the right man at the right time to lead this formidable India side. His players, in particular the bowlers, want an aggressive captain. They want Kohli stirring things up, as he did so effectively in that brilliant second Test at Lord's.

"Jasprit Bumrah has always seemed, to me a quiet and reserved character off the field, but look at the way he attacked and went after Jimmy Anderson on that third evening.

“We saw India winning that way in Australia when Kohli went home to be at the birth of his first child after the first Test. They won then with Ajinkya Rahane in charge but it was Kohli who set the tone for that famous series victory and he's doing it again now,” Hussain added.

India are currently leading the five-match series 1-0. The third Test will be played on August 25 at Headingley.