3 areas to improve for India ahead of their 2nd Test vs Australia in Delhi
Team India got off to the perfect start in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia when they won the opening Test by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur last week.
After winning the toss, it all went downhill for Australia as they just couldn't withstand the hosts' potent spin attack in both their innings.
While Ravindra Jadeja did the bulk of the damage with his 5/47 on Day 1, it was the guile of Ravichandran Ashwin that skittled the Aussies out for just 91 to win the Test match on Day 3.
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Captain Rohit Sharma starred with the bat for the hosts, notching his ninth Test century to set up the innings. On what was a challenging track for the batters, Sharma stood adamant and came up with one of his best red-ball hundreds for his country.
All-rounders Jadeja and Axar Patel also contributed with scores of 70 and 84, respectively.
The caravan has now shifted to Delhi, with the second Test match set to commence on Friday, February 17.
While India were quite dominant in the first Test, they will still look to identify and work on a few shortcomings. This is all the more pivotal considering that a comfortable win in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy would book their place in the finals of the ICC World Test Championship (2021-23).
On that note, let's take a look at three areas that the hosts should look to improve upon in the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
3 areas to improve for India in 2nd Test vs Australia
#3 Elementary errors on the field
India's fielding was on the money for most of the first Test, but they made a few elementary errors. This includes some drop catches and several incidents of a bowler bowling a no-ball.
Virat Kohli, who was in the slip cordon despite not being a renowned slip catcher, shelled three catches - two of which were very straightforward - as he reacted late to all of them.
The 34-year-old needs to be replaced at the position since he appeared completely out of his element there, especially against the spinners.
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Another avoidable mistake made by the Indians in the previous Test was how often bowlers, particularly Ravindra Jadeja, overstepped while bowling. The left-arm spinner bowled as many as five no-balls in the Test.
He would've had his 250th Test wicket in Steve Smith had he not bowled a no-ball. The left-arm spinner has been known to struggle to keep his foot behind the line, and that could come back to haunt India sooner rather than later.
#2 Include Shubman Gill or Shreyas Iyer in the starting XI
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With Shreyas Iyer being ruled out of the first Test, Team India had a key decision to make in his absence. They had to choose between Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill for a middle-order role, with KL Rahul somewhere in the mix as well.
Interestingly, Rohit Sharma and the team management went in for Suryakumar and kept out the young sensation in Gill. Leading up to the Nagpur Test, Gill was in ominous touch, clobbering hundred after hundred in white-ball cricket.
Although India hoped for SKY to shine in his typical manner, it didn't quite pay off. The Mumbai lad was dismissed on just eight off 20 balls when he was totally undone by Nathan Lyon. SKY was the veteran Aussie off-spinner's only scalp of the match, with the other batters playing him out convincingly, despite the odd ball turning past the edge.
Come the second Test, the hosts must get their selection right. Fortunately for them, Iyer has been declared fit and his inclusion is all but confirmed in the upcoming encounter.
#1 Better application from the top and middle order
Barring skipper Rohit Sharma, all the other Indian top and middle-order batters failed to get going against Australia in Nagpur.
While Sharma, who remained imperturbed and showcased vigor throughout, came up with a fantastic knock of 120 runs, the other batters didn't quite settle in nicely.
Opener KL Rahul gave his wicket away right at the stroke of the stumps on Day 1, while Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara were dismissed on innocuous deliveries outside leg-stump by Todd Murphy.
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As mentioned earlier, Suryakumar too failed miserably on his Test debut. Had it not been for Rohit's class and the resilience of the lower-order, including Jadeja and Patel, the first Test would've definitely been a closer affair.
The surface in Delhi is expected to be similar to that of Nagpur's and a better application from the top and middle order batters is what the hosts will be eyeing for.
The Australian bowlers will come up with a stronger plan to draw level in the series. Hence, the Indian batters should be on their toes to ease out the pressure.