England v India 2014 - 3rd Test: Team India falling back to their tame, traditional tactics
It's just been 5 days between the historic, win-less streak ending triumph at the Home of Cricket – Lord’s and the start of this 3rd England-India Test match, and I can't come to terms with MS Dhoni reverting to his 'defensive Dhoni' days. Yes, Stuart Binny didn't render enviable results for Team India in the two Tests he got to play in, but why go back to the 6-1-4 combination by including an extra batsman?
It is bonkers from Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher after all the accolades they received for the team’s victory at Lord’s, where, with overwhelming ammunition, they put up a determined effort to see off England on that final day, which was brought about by some astute, thought-provoking captaincy, backed up by one of the most spirited bowling spells you will ever get to see: Ishant Sharma, with a series of short-deliveries, decimated the England middle order and finished with figures of 7-74.
Why Team India should have played 4 specialist fast bowlers?
The sun is out, and there aren't any devils on the playing surface. Yes, there's a tinge of green there, but, being a professional, you should know that there won't be a lot of malice from the surface on offer. As a result, it's your bowling that should have been bolstered and not your batting.
And, even if you were of the belief that there was something in there for your fast bowlers, won't you want them to stay fresh and bowl a lot of overs? 90 overs in a day, for heaven’s sake, can't be bowled by the Indian trio, with the same vigor throughout the day. There's got to be that 4th bowler, who can hold one end up, bowl in short spells of 4-5 overs, when your premier fast bowler would be in need of a breather.
Disappointing from Team India and Dhoni for the tame tactics they have deployed in this Test match.
Why not Rohit Sharma?
Of course, I want India to play a 4th fast bowler in place of Binny. While it is obvious that Binny hasn’t yielded results, it could be mainly attributed to the way he has been used by the Indian captain in the couple of matches he has played; in fact, in the two innings' the 30-year-old has bowled, Binny delivered a total of 20 overs for 82 runs, which is fair enough for what was expected of him as the 5th bowler in the side.
And, by not playing an extra fast bowler, you're making it cumbersome for Bhuvneshwar Kumar to lead the attack and get wickets like he did in the first couple of Test matches. The reason behind that is Mohammed Shami hasn't delivered in this series so far, and Ishant Sharma is out with a niggling ankle problem. Indicatively, the overwhelming expectations have meant that Bhuvneshwar hasn't bowled as well as he can, or has, in this match. He has been short and has consequently made life easier for the English openers in the very first session of the 3rd Test match.
Pankaj Singh deserves some sort of a reward for his lethal right-arm fast medium bowling, but it would be harsh to expect your debutant to come on and win people's hearts in his very first outing.
Possible England resurgence
Just as we were getting exhilarated by India's innovative tactics and team combination for the first couple of Test matches, the captain and the coach felt the need to remind us of the tactics that impeded India from putting up a fight in 15 overseas Test matches, prior to the victory at Lord's.
And, if there has to be some kind of a backlash from the home side, after that ignominious display at Lord's, it could all be because of the visitors and Dhoni falling back to their insipid, age-old tactics that have let them down time and time again.