England vs India 2018: 3 questions that need to be answered by India
This was the best possible opportunity for India to come to England and beat them, such was the build-up and hype prior to the start of the series. And that was justified as the same team despite losing the series against the Proteas, showed enormous grit, determination and courage to win the last test at Johannesburg on a very tricky surface.
Everyone was certain looking at India’s recent form in overseas conditions combined with the fact that this English side was not the strongest to face off against India meant a close series was expected in terms of results. But the results in this test series speak for themselves leaving more answers than questions.
On paper, India’s team have players who have far more skill and potential than their English counterparts. But a combination of many factors and some outstanding cricket from England leaves India wondering what they must do to succeed overseas.
With India scheduled to tour Australia later this year, after watching and analysing their performances in the test series against England, here are some questions that needs to be answered if India can be a force to reckon with in overseas conditions:
Kohli being India's lone warrior throughout the series
This is the question everyone seems to be asking after India’s 1-4 series defeat against England. Why was a team that had established, equipped batsmen like Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane struggle to provide even a semblance of confidence and consistency through the series?
The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul had their moments of individual brilliance but the very fact that as a team they were unable to provide the support to their skipper Virat Kohli is a big cause for concern. The bigger issue has to be lack of temperament and resolve shown by most batsman.
With England’s bowling heavily reliant on James Anderson and Stuart Broad, India’s batsmen needed to play and tire them out thereby making their other fast bowlers like Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes less threatening and easier to handle.
But India’s top and middle-order were far too inconsistent and lacked the technique and confidence in order to play out England’s fast bowling attack. The stark difference in the number of runs Virat Kohli scored in the series (593 runs at an average of 59.30) as to their next highest scorer, KL Rahul (299 runs at an average of 29.90) speaks for itself.
Keeping this in mind, is the current squad the best possible set of players that should represent India in the longest form of the game needs to be a point of discussion. What the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari showed in the last Test match is that they are willing to grind it out, bat for long time and wear out the bowlers - something most other batsmen apart from Virat Kohli failed to do on a regular basis.