3 key factors for India to achieve success in the Test series in England
India’s tour of England is less than a month away and already there is huge excitement as this will be a first away assignment for Team India given the overseas tours they have leading into the 2019 World cup. Virat Kohli and his men would want to achieve success in the test series considering the humiliating defeats they suffered in the last test series in England.
Last time, when India toured England in 2014, Team India won the 2nd Test at Lords but went on to lose the remaining 3 Tests on a trot. The main cause for the failure was the batting that failed time and again against the swing bowling of the English seamers. Barring Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay, all the other Indian batsmen failed to make an impact and this time it would require a collective effort to overcome the miseries of 2014.
When it comes to bowling, Indian bowlers are much potent now compared to 2014 with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah achieving success both at home and in the recently concluded South Africa series.
Team India are currently standing at Number One position as per rankings in Test cricket and to defend that position and achieve the ultimate success the following factors play a crucial role. Let us look at 3 of the important factors that would contribute to Team India’s success in England.
#1 Shikhar Dhawan needs to mix caution with aggression
Undoubtedly, Shikhar Dhawan has been India’s best match-winner over the years. We have seen his aggressive batting display in the Test series against Sri Lanka in their home last year. He managed to notch up big scores and also at a brisk pace. However, things will be entirely different going into the test series against England.
This series would define his ability to survive against the toughest of the bowling attacks at testing conditions. This could also be a make or break series for the left-hander as a string of poor scores could potentially lead to dropping him from the squad and with KL Rahul waiting in the wings, this would be an acid test for the southpaw.
In the last tour of England, Shikhar Dhawan managed to score a meagre 122 runs in 6 innings with a below-par batting average of 20.33. He failed to negotiate the swing bowling of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes and was caught behind the stumps most of the time.
This time, Shikhar Dhawan would be much aware and needs to be well prepared to counter the storm. He would need to play cautiously at the start, negotiate the swing and avoid playing horizontal shorts on pitches that seam and swing a lot.
In England, batting would be easy in the 2nd session and if Shikhar Dhawan stays in the crease for a decent length of time the scoring rate would be picked up and it would lay a great foundation for the middle order to pile up huge scores.