England Vs India 2018: Three things we learnt from the first Test
The first of the much-anticipated five Tests between India and England ended in another Indian relinquishment in the hands of England. Looking back, team India will feel that this was another great chance to beat England in their own backyard that they let go.
Opting to bat first, England collapsed after showing resilience in the first two sessions of Day 1 and were bowled out for 287. Poor application by the Indian batsmen meant that India missed out on a slender 50-run lead. The only man who stood out was India's skipper Virat Kohli with his 149.
Indian pacers dragged their team back in the game before a blitzkrieg from Sam Curran propelled England to a lead of near 200. India's run chase went nowhere as they found themselves 31 runs short.
Let us take a look at 3 major things that we learnt from this Test match.
#3 Form should not be the only criteria for selection
While everyone was busy with the IPL, Pujara spent his time playing County Championship for Yorkshire to get used to the English conditions before the all-important tour. The move backfired as it did not do any good to his personal form but rather made him lose his place from the side.
Pujara's dismal stint with the Yorkshire saw 169 runs from 12 innings at a mediocre average of 14. India opted to go with an in-form KL Rahul instead of Pujara who did not have sufficient runs under his belt.
When a lot of Indian batsmen got out playing unnecessary rash shots throughout the course of this Test match, the Saurashtra batsman could have been the one who would have showed temperament and stayed at the crease.
Pujara has been India's best No.3 batsman for quite some time now and his axing because of his poor form in County Championship was absurd. It was one of those rare cases where a player got penalised for doing the right thing!