4 areas where India still need to improve in the current series against England
As it has often been said and heard, "Test cricket is the pinnacle of cricket". The format, no doubt, requires an altogether different level of skill-set and endurance.
Amongst all the hullabaloo of T20 cricket taking over and of Test cricket falling by the wayside, the face-off between the two cricket giants in the UK summers is as mouth-watering as it gets.
The current India-England series has seen all sorts of momentum shifts from one side to another. Just like a typical Bollywood movie, the series has unfolded into a completely new drama, session by session, day by day.
As it stands, the English have their noses ahead with a slender lead of 2-1 but India would certainly be riding high on the Nottingham victory. With rejuvenated energy in the 3rd Test, Team India has brought the series back to life.
Although Trent Bridge was a near-complete performance, India would still be looking to make amends in a few areas to make the scoreline 3-2 in their favour and create history.
Let us have a look at the grey areas India need to be wary of if they are to win the Test series in England after a gap of 11 years:
#4 The opening partnership
Well, it is a tough place to be an opener in England. The conditions are quite testing for the batsmen, more so for the openers, having to face the new Dukes swinging and seaming ferociously.
Indians have had problems of their own at the top of the order. They started out with Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay in the first test, dropping Dhawan in the second test and moving KL Rahul up the order, only to bring Dhawan back in the third test at the cost of Vijay.
Truth be told, time is running out quickly for Vijay. With age not on his side and youngsters coming up the ranks, making a comeback looks very difficult for him. Dhawan and Rahul, however, provided good opening partnerships in both innings in Nottingham.
The twin 60 stands were very helpful in building the lead as well as negating the initial swing. However, Kohli would be hoping for 3 digits stand from the openers in Southampton which has been long overdue.
A good opening stand will definitely put India in the driver's seat and help in bringing the scoreline to back to level pegging.