England vs India 2018: Likely Indian playing XI for Lord's Test
After the 31-run loss in the first Test against England, India will have some tough selection decisions to make ahead of the second Test. Barring Virat Kohli, all the batsmen failed, while the bowling department still fared better. While Kohli got 200 runs in the last Test, other specialist batsmen had nothing much to show.
Murali Vijay got a combined total of 26 runs, Shikhar Dhawan got 39 runs, KL Rahul got 17 runs, and Ajinkya Rahane got 17 runs. India's loss can be summed by the combined failure of these specialist four batsmen.
All eyes are now on what team will India bring for the second game. The second England-India Test starts on August 9th (Thursday) at Lord's. Cricket experts such as Sourav Ganguly and Sanjay Manjrekar have rooted for not much tinkering in the batting lineup, as according to them too many changes will dent the confidence of the team and bring about insecurity in the camp.
The argument given by them is since it's a five-Test match series, all the batsmen who failed in the last Test should be given one more chance.
However, knowing Kohli, he will want to make those changes and have a team that will have a maximum chance of beating England in the second Test match. After all, if India lose the second match, it will be very difficult for them to come back in the series.
Let's analyze what team could Kohli select for the second Test match.
Murali Vijay
Although Murali Vijay got only 26 runs in the last Test, I would believe he will hold his place because he got a half-century in the warm-up game against Essex. He also had a century against Afghanistan before coming to England, although it was in Indian conditions, which is totally different from conditions in England.
One more thing to be noted is that in the three Tests that he played against South Africa early this year, he got only 102 runs at an average of 17. This shows that he has not been able to counter foreign conditions, which as an opener becomes critical for the team's fortunes. However, India does not have a ready replacement for him, and he is set to hold his place in the team as an opener.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul was another specialist batsman who looked alien to the England conditions. He was all at sea against the moving ball. In the first innings, he got out to an inswinger from Sam Curran which he played on to his wicket. He scored only 4 runs in that innings, and these 4 runs also came via an edged boundary.
In the second innings, he was caught behind by the wicketkeeper by a Ben Stokes delivery which bounced a little more. Again, the manner in which he got out in both innings will worry the team management. However, Rahul is a dynamic player, and he is likely to retain his position for at least one more Test.
Cheteshwar Pujara
Although Pujara was overlooked for the first Test, the combined failures of the four specialist batsmen in the last Test makes him a certainty for the second Test. Although he is coming from a lean phase in the last few matches that he played for Yorkshire, he has garnered the rich experience of English conditions through his participation in county cricket this season.
County cricket experience is like a gold to a player preparing for Tests in England, and only Pujara and Ishant Sharma from this Indian team have participated in county cricket this year, as other players were busy playing in the IPL.
Pujara is likely to play in his customary number 3 position with Rahul taking up the responsibility of the opener in place of Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan had a very ordinary Test match against England at Edgbaston.
He got only a combined 39 runs but what would worry the Indian camp more was the manner in which he got out. In both the innings, he got out in the slip cordon chasing balls away from his body with hard hands.
A good Test player plays the ball closer to their bodies with soft hands so that the edge reaches the slip players on the bounce. What makes matters worse is that Dhawan got ducks in both the innings against Essex. This makes him the most likely candidate for replacement.