Prasidh Krishna Takes Blame for Expensive Spells in India's Test Defeat vs England

India's pacer Prasidh Krishna has accepted the blame for his performance during the first Test match against England at Leeds. The Test match resulted in a five-wicket defeat for India, and Prasidh's bowling spells were severely criticized by fans as well as retired players. He conceded 220 runs in two innings which came very dearly to the team. Alone in the first innings he conceded 128 runs in 20 overs with an economy rate of 6.40 which is one of the worst by an Indian bowler who has bowled 20 overs or more in a single Test innings.

Prasidh acknowledged that he could not bowl the appropriate lengths during the match and maintained that it took time for him to adjust to the gradient of the pitch. He acknowledged that as a professional player, he should have acclimatized sooner. Though he did take a few wickets including Ollie Pope Harry Brook and Jamie Smith in the first innings and Zak Crawley and Pope again in the second innings his overall economy rate was always a worry. In the second innings as well he conceded 92 runs in 15 overs at a rate of 6.10 which again stressed the Indian team.

The fast bowler said that he was attempting to be economical and apply pressure with tight lines but he kept missing his mark. He added that his aim was always to bowl maidens and not concede boundaries. He acknowledged that most of his deliveries were either short or off line. Certain balls actually ran off the edge for boundaries while others were meant to be bouncers but found themselves getting hit to the boundary. The quick outfield also helped convert wayward deliveries into boundaries.

Although Prasidh was able to pick wickets his inability to control line and length allowed England batsmen to score at will every time he bowled. He accepted that he has no reason not to play well and that he knows the lesson from the errors committed in this match should be learned. Volunteering for complete responsibility for his performance he said that he wanted to perform much better in the subsequent matches.

Prasidh's work in the second innings provided India with a temporary glimmer of hope when he cleaned up Crawley and Pope in quick succession. Yet again, runs kept coming at the other end and India could not retain the upper hand. His expensive economy rate in both innings contributed to India's woes on the field and made it more difficult for the bowlers to maintain pressure on the English batting order.

He discussed how essential it is for a fast bowler to bowl at the proper length regularly particularly in Test matches where the skill of applying pressure over extended periods is key. He said his ideal length would have been between six and eight meters but during the first innings he usually bowled too short. In the second innings, he attempted to do so by bowling slightly fuller as the pitch was slower but even that was not done to the extent that he had desired.

Even after former players and experts criticized him, Prasidh did not attempt to deceive anyone by denying his faults. He was mature enough to accept his faults and professional enough to take the criticism that arrived on his doorstep. He mentioned that he knows what is expected of him when he wears the Indian jersey and realizes that he needs to improve to be on par with those expectations.

The Indian squad will be praying that Prasidh takes a lesson from this and returns stronger in the rest of the matches. His wicket-taking ability is useful but he has to along with that use discipline in his line and length so that he can turn into a more dependable bowler in the longer version. Prasidh revealed that he is working on himself and intends to return with a better game.

His willingness to accept complete blame and his integrity is a good omen for Indian cricket. It proves that he is not avoiding challenges and willing to put in hard work to rectify what went wrong. The series is long and he will get more chances to assert himself. The fans and the team would be waiting to see a more composed and confident Prasidh Krishna in the next game.

This Leeds Test match was a hard lesson for Prasidh but an opportunity for learning. As he himself admitted there are no excuses but learnings. He now knows where he lacked and exactly what needs to be worked on. With consistent work and the right frame of mind he can come out of this challenging phase and perform better for the team.