England vs India 2018: India's major worries ahead of the Lord's test
England clinched victory in a thrilling series-opener at Edgbaston, to gain a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. While India have reasons to be proud of their performance- they picked up 20 wickets with relative ease and ended just 31 runs short of becoming the first Asian side to win a Test match in Birmingham- there is no hiding from some glaring issues which must be resolved if India are to compete in the rest of the series.
Virat Kohli almost single-handedly kept India alive aggregating 200 runs in the match, but a collective failure from the rest of the batting unit made disaster inevitable as England were effectively bowling to just one batsman. The hard work put in by the bowlers led by Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin also went in vain as India squandered a golden opportunity of securing an overseas win.
Who should open for India? How does Pujara fit in? What's wrong with Rahane? Is there a defined role for Pandya in the test team?
Let's take a look at the major worries for Team India ahead of the 2nd Test at Lord's:
1) Who should India's openers be?
The big question coming into the series was about who should accompany Murali Vijay at the top of the line-up. It seemed harsh to drop either KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan, given their recent form in international cricket. India eventually decided to play all three of them at the expense of Cheteshwar Pujara.
It would be an understatement to describe their performance in the first Test as disappointing.
While Vijay and Dhawan started well in the first innings with a 50-run opening partnership, they threw it away soon after that, leaving India in a spot of bother. Rahul didn't last too long either, as he dragged one onto his stumps from Sam Curran.
Not a lot changed in the second innings either. Vijay was trapped lbw by a well-disguised inswinger from Stuart Broad; Dhawan edged an attempted cover drive to slip for the second time in the match and Rahul endured a painful 24-ball stay at the crease before nicking off to the keeper.
Vijay's case is an intriguing one. Over the last few years, he has been one of India's most consistent performers in overseas conditions where most other batsmen have struggled. His ability to leave deliveries outside the off-stump along with his patience to play long innings even earned him the nickname "the monk".
However, he has failed to replicate the same kind of form in the recent past and more than the numbers, his tendency to play at and edge seemingly harmless deliveries outside off-stump is the cause of concern. It started in South Africa and worryingly, continued to happen in the Edgbaston Test where he was dropped in the slips in both innings. For India's sake, it is imperative that Vijay sorts out this issue as soon as possible as he still remains the first-choice opener of the team.
So who should the second opener be then? There's nothing to choose between Dhawan and Rahul on the basis of their performance in the first Test and this is where India must ensure that they do not repeat a mistake from the past- shuffling openers early in a long series abroad.
Questions still remain over the logic of selecting Dhawan in the first place, but given that he was picked and didn't do too badly in comparison to the rest of the batting lineup, he must be given an extended run before being dropped. As for Rahul, there is no doubt that he is a special player; all he needs to do is wait for his opportunity.