3 areas of concern for India from the 3rd Test against England
India trounced England by 10 wickets in the 3rd Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, but the performance left a lot to be desired.
After all, the Test got over in under two days, which is never a good sign for either team's batting lineup. A number of Indian batsmen failed to impress in the Test, while the pacers didn't have much to do.
Here are 3 areas of concern for India from the 3rd Test against England.
#3 England had only one frontline spinner, but managed to bowl India out for 145
After Day 1, it seemed like England had got their selection all wrong. The visitors opted to play only one frontline spinner in Jack Leach, with Moeen Ali sent home and Dom Bess on the bench. Even Leach hasn't been held in high regard by some legends of the game owing to his relative inexperience at the Test level.
At the end of Day 1, it also seemed like England were in for a long day in the field. India were only 13 runs shy of their opponents' first-innings total at 99/3, with well-set Rohit Sharma at the crease and a number of batsmen to come.
What followed in the first session on Day 2 was nothing short of shocking. After Leach sent back Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane to reduce India to 115/5, England captain Joe Root brought himself on.
Root ran through the rest of the Indian batting lineup, picking up 5 wickets for just 8 runs. India were bowled out for just 145 - they lost their last 7 wickets for 31 runs.
India got away with the collapse in the end, as England outdid them with a shambolic performance of their own in the second session. But they will certainly wonder how they were bowled out for just 145 by Leach and Root.
#2 Captain Virat Kohli's inability to notch up big scores
Virat Kohli scored his last international century 459 days ago. The Indian captain isn't in bad form at all, and it's clear that he's in a league of his own when he's at the crease.
But careless shot-making has resulted in Kohli going a significant run of games without a 3-figure score. In this match, the 32-year-old played a loose cut to a ball from Leach that didn't turn as much as he expected it to. The resultant inside edge disturbed the timber, and India's collapse began with his wicket.
Kohli has been stuck on 70 international tons for a while now. It's not a bad number to be stuck on, but fans and experts have been left wondering why he hasn't been able to kick on and register one of his trademark classy hundreds.
#1 Ajinkya Rahane's (home) form
Ajinkya Rahane's value to the team cannot be accurately represented by numbers. He's a player who pulls magical innings out of his hat when his team needs him to, such as his fighting hundred in Melbourne in the preceding Australia tour.
But Rahane's stats over the last few years don't make for pretty reading. His average has been hovering in the 30s over the last five years with the exception of 2019, in which he averaged 71.33. And at home, the Indian Test vice-captain averages only 36.69, significantly lesser than his illustrious peers.
In the three Tests he has played this series, Rahane has scored only 85 runs at an average of 17, and 67 of these runs came in a single innings. He has looked all at sea against spin, often caught on the crease or on the backfoot.
Rahane has been a walking LBW candidate, with his tendency to play cross-batted shots to balls on the stumps putting him in trouble repeatedly. His position at No. 5 isn't really under threat, but India will certainly be concerned with the form of their vice-captain.