Mohinder Amarnath feels that the absence of a No.6 batsman may have hurt India's chances
India has been humbled with a 1-3 loss in the ongoing Specsavers' Test series against England, that too with another game to go.
Several causes have been pointed out as the reasons for the debacle, which also indicates that the visitors may have got more than one of their steps wrong.
They lost the first test by 31 runs, the second one by an innings and 159 runs, and the fourth one by 60 runs, but won the third encounter by 203 runs.
In general, most of India's batsmen misfired, with the sole exception of skipper Virat Kohli who remains the top-scorer from the yet-to-be-completed series, with more than 500 runs on his own.
The host bowlers made short work of the opponents, with the new ball's swing and pace in case of the top-order, and with some accurate hit-the-deck bowling with the rest of the batsmen. Moeen Ali's effective spin became a bonus in the fourth game as well.
In most cases, Indian bowlers did a nearly-comparable job, hence it is to be concluded that both side's batsmen made the difference.
The latest to condole India's low-lying performance is former World Cup winner with India, Mohinder Amarnath, who stated that India may have missed out on a better depth in their batting department, in terms of both quantity and quality.
In his column for the Times of India, Amarnath wrote:
"It was the batting that let India down, and what this showed was that they are not great players of the moving ball. Apart from Virat, Rahane and Pujara, none of the others looked comfortable even though some of them did get runs.”
He went on to state how he felt that the batting lineup in general, “pressed undo” on several notable performances from the bowling unit – despite after having created plenty of opportunities. He attributed that to the lack of application, rhythm, and temperament which he felt was vital for converting good starts.
“Also, we missed a regular No.6. You cannot go in with five batsmen and an all-rounder, especially in England. They could be very handy in the subcontinent, but overseas they get exposed," he concluded.
The fifth and final Test of the series will begin tomorrow (Friday, September 7th) at the Oval. India will want to save their faces with a consoling win, and at least end the series on a positive note at best.