England vs India 2018, Tests: 3 things India needs to do to get back into this series
The first Specsavers test match between India and England was a classic. A nail-bitter which made everyone watching realize the true and real beauty of test match cricket. India should have won that test match but the hosts displayed a lot of grit and self-belief and ensured they went 1-0 on the back of a complete team effort.
The battle between these two fine sides moved to the iconic Lord’s stadium and there we got to witness an annihilation that took Indian fans back to their previous tours of England in 2011 and 2014. Nothing seemed to be working for India as they were outplayed and outclassed by England.
India also played a part in their performance as they got the selections wrong by picking Kuldeep Yadav on a pitch supporting fast bowlers and it backfired big time. Kuldeep Yadav is clearly not ready for test match cricket, not yet at least. And all the batsmen looked woefully out form and confidence barring Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin who showed some fight.
With time running out for India, they need to really pull up their socks and show why this team is rated so highly. On paper, this Indian team has a lot of proven potential but they have faltered when it mattered the most. The lack of intent and confidence is very evident-something the hosts took full advantage of.
Heading into the third test match at the Trent Bridge, Nottingham, a beleaguered Indian team would need to be at their best in order to come into this series and get back to winning ways. Here’s looking at some of the things they can do to get back to winning ways:
India need to shake things up as far as their selections go
It’s pretty obvious from the first two test matches that the openers position need to be relooked at. Shikhar Dhawan looks completely out of sorts against the swing and seam in English conditions. Murali Vijay has looked shoddy, out of form and comes into this test match on a pair.
KL Rahul has been the most successful among the three batsmen tried so far on this tour but he hasn’t impressed either. India needed to bat out 37 minutes in the second innings at Lord’s before Virat Kohli could come out to bat. But before that time could elapse both openers were in the hutch-just goes to show something unexpected should be done to solve this issue.
India can either go for the safer option of pushing Cheteshwar Pujara to the opener’s slot in the hope that the intent he showed in the second innings at Lord’s can carry on into this important match. Or they can shake things up by bringing in Ravindra Jadeja into the team as a surprise choice for the opener’s position.
England, for sure, wouldn’t be expecting someone like Ravindra Jadeja to open the innings, they wouldn’t have planned for that. It is probably what India need to do-shake things up. Do the unexpected in order to get their campaign back on track.
The inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja into the side will not give Kohli the extra caution of having a potential match-winner with the bowl what with him having taken 171 wickets in his 36 test match appearances. Jadeja has also scored three triple centuries in his Ranji Trophy career so far.
The conditions and the opposition at Trent Bridge, Nottingham may be completely different from the ones where he hit those triple centuries but when the chips are down and India have nothing much to lose being 0-2 down in the series, doing something as drastic may possibly work out in their favour.