'Not Bazball, it's England's bowling' - Sanjay Manjrekar shifts blame from ENG batting after India post big totals

After India posted back-to-back mammoth totals in the first two Tests of the ongoing India-England series, much of the cricketing conversation has revolved around "Bazball" and its limitations.

But former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has offered a different take - shifting the spotlight from England's aggressive batting to what he sees as their real weakness: ineffective bowling. On Sunday, India sealed a historic 336-run win at Edgbaston to level the five-match series 1-1.

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The margin of victory was huge, but so was the volume of runs scored by a relatively inexperienced Indian batting line-up. Manjrekar was not impressed with how England's bowlers responded.

Sanjay Manjrekar points fingers at England's bowling attack

Posting on X after India's win, Manjrekar highlighted the team's huge batting totals across the first two Tests:

"471, 364, 587, 427/6 - these are India totals so far with an inexperienced batting line up. It's England bowling guys not England batting or 'bazball.'"

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The numbers are hard to ignore. In both innings at Edgbaston, India scored big - 587 in the first, 427/6 declared in the second.

This left England with a near-impossible target of 608. Shubman Gill alone contributed 430 runs in the match, scoring a double hundred and a century.

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India batted very well despite missing key players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. It has put England's bowling under watch.

The series now heads to Lord's with India riding high and questions looming over England's bowling plans. Unless their attack finds answers soon, the problems will only pile up.

What are England's heaviest defeats in Test cricket?

England's biggest loss in the fourth innings chases came against the arch-rivals, Australia, back in 1934 at The Oval, where they got bundled for 145 runs while chasing 707.

In 2024, they suffered similarly crushing losses away from home, losing by 434 runs to India and 423 runs to New Zealand.

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(Table correct as of July 7, 2025)