England vs India: Nasser Hussain asks Virat Kohli to take responsibility for Edgbaston loss

Former England captain Nasser Hussain praised Virat Kohli the run-machine but raised questions on his leadership skills after India suffered a heart-breaking 31-run defeat in the first Test at Edgbaston on Saturday.

“Kohli was phenomenal in this game. He deserved to be on the winning side for the way he played with the tail. He single-handedly brought India back into the Test match. I do think he should take some of the responsibility for the loss, though,” Hussein told Sky Sports.

“England were 87-7 with Curran and Adil Rashid at the crease and for some reason, Ravichandran Ashwin went out of the game for an hour. India lost control then,” he added.

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Ashwin had ripped through the England top order with three wickets before Ishant Sharma arrived on the scene by taking a 5-fer. Of those three wickets, two were of left-handers that included the prized wicket of Alastair Cook in both the innings.

He was however hardly used by Kohli when Sam Curran –  stepping in with England at a spot of bother after losing seven wickets for just 87 – smashed the fast bowlers all over the park to score a quick-fire 63 from 65 balls and help the Three Lions set-up a 193-run target for India to chase.

“He (Virat) needs to look back on his captaincy and say ‘when I’ve got a bloke who averages 19 against left-handers and a 20-year-old left-hander on strike, why did I take him off?” said the England great.

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Hussain was also full of praise for the rookie English all-rounder Sam Curran, who was magnificent with both the ball and the bat.

“He has won England this game, didn’t he? Said Hussain. “India might say Kohli got 200 runs but who turned this game around? A 20-year-old. It’s a phenomenal achievement. He changed the course of two innings. He came on with India 50-0 and pitched it up, swung it and got four for nothing and he then went in with England 87-7.

“After his first game you thought he was maybe a bits-and-pieces cricketer and wondered whether he was quick enough, could move it enough and if he was a proper batsman. I always used to say ‘pick someone on their character more than what they are showing in county cricket’. He has character in abundance,” he added.

Talking about the enthralling Test match, the former England skipper congratulated both the teams for an intriguing three and half days of Test cricket.

A lot of times nowadays we see one side get ahead in Test matches and series and then the other doesn’t seem capable of fighting back. This match has switched one way and then the other,” he said.