3 major concerns that remain for Team India despite their win in the 2nd Test vs England
Team India bounced back in the five-match World Test Championship series against England as they clinched the Visakhapatnam Test by 106 runs on Monday, February 5.
Jasprit Bumrah was the Player of the Match for his nine-wicket match haul. On the batting front, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were the standout contributors as they notched up a double century and a century respectively.
However, it wasn't the most convincing performance from the hosts, who struggled to sustain their hold over the Test at various junctures. They cannot afford another performance like this and have many things to ponder over ahead of the remaining three clashes.
Here are three major concerns that remain for Team India despite their win in the second Test against England.
#3 India's middle order is far from its strongest
India's middle-order concerns came to the fore in the second Test. Playing without some of their most established players, including Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja, for various reasons, the home side struggled.
Rajat Patidar couldn't make a major impression on debut, while Shreyas Iyer's lean run of form continued. Meanwhile, KS Bharat's batting returns have been hugely underwhelming for quite a while now.
India's middle order is far from its strongest right now, due to a combination of factors. Unfortunately, though, that doesn't seem like it'll drastically improve soon...
#2 Injuries and player unavailability are two of the hosts' biggest problems right now
Reports suggest that Jadeja, who injured his hamstring in the Hyderabad Test, might be out for a longer time than was initially expected. He is almost certain to miss the upcoming Test at Rajkot, which is his home venue.
Mohammed Shami has been out of action for many months now, and the ankle injury that has kept him on the sidelines is seemingly continuing to trouble him. The fast bowler might be out of action for another month or two.
Rahul is expected to make his comeback in the third Test, but there has been no news on the availability of Kohli. The superstar batter could take some more time off, according to certain sources, leaving India without any reliability in the middle order.
In a five-Test series like the ongoing one, India will need to be very careful while managing the workloads of their players. Injuries and unavailable players will only make it worse for them to keep their main men fresh.
#1 India's spinners have been outbowled by their English counterparts
Ahead of the series, no one could've anticipated this. India's spinners have been outbowled by their English counterparts so far, with the visiting tweakers having taken more wickets at a better average.
In the first Test, India struggled to come to terms with England's approach, leading to them being expensive. Lead spinner R Ashwin has looked a touch off the pace, although he seemed to be close to his best on Day 4 of the Vizag Test. Axar Patel, meanwhile, has leaked runs, and the bite that usually characterizes his bowling has been missing.
In contrast, Tom Hartley, Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir have been impressive. Rehan Ahmed's accuracy is still a work in progress, but he too was among the wickets in the second Test.
Without Jadeja, India's spinners will have to step up and make the most of the home conditions they have been so deadly in over the years.