5 Weaknesses of England that India can exploit
Last time India played a Test series in England, they were up against a side still recovering from the assault of Mitchell Johnson in the 2013-14 Ashes series and coming off a shocking home series loss to Sri Lanka. India took advantage of the situation by winning the second Test and taking a lead in the 5-match rubber. But it went downhill after that and England crushed India in the last three Tests.
England’s run of form coming into the series this time also hasn’t been ideal. They were smashed in Australia, beaten in New Zealand and had to settle for a drawn series against Pakistan at home. But this team doesn’t look as troubled as the side in 2014. The team is more settled and the captain Joe Root is safe in his position. However, there are still some chinks in the armor of England that India can exploit. Let’s look at five of them.
#1. England’s opening woes
One thing that has remained the same with England as the previous home series against India is their search for a long-term opening partner for Alastair Cook. In the 2014 series, it was Sam Robson who played all five Tests and got dropped afterwards. This time, England are going in with Keaton Jennings. They hope he would end their search for Andrew Strauss’s replacement that has been on since 2012.
However, the problem has aggravated with Alastair Cook also witnessing a decline in his production of runs. Apart from his double hundred at Melbourne against Australia, he hasn’t got a big score for a long time. Doubts are being raised about his future. To summarize, the opening pair is under pressure and Indian bowlers need to exploit it.