IND vs ENG 2021: India’s win at Lord’s shouldn’t mask the team’s middle-order and selection woes
Ajinkya Rahane believes that only important people are talked about. Well, the vice-captain’s position in the Indian Test team is an important and prestigious one. And for all his contributions to the national team, Rahane remains a very important figure, especially given how he led India’s comeback in Australia in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
But shrugging off criticism concerns isn’t a healthy sign, but rather a stubborn, complacent and living-in-denial approach. Both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara did play their parts in the famous Lord’s win last week. Still, their prolonged dry spells with the bat have held back India’s transformation from being a very good Test side to a world-beating team that could draw parallels with the West Indies in the 1980s or the Australian side of the 2000s.
India’s middle-order slump looks even more worrying now with Virat Kohli hitting a lean patch. With India playing five specialist batters to add more cushion to their bowling, the middle order has been terribly brittle lately.
India’s middle-order mainstays since 2017
The above chart highlights the decline. It illustrates Rahane’s inconsistencies, Pujara’s inability to convert the time spent in the crease into runs and finally, captain Kohli proves that he's a human without superpowers.
Since 2020, India’s no.3 to no.5 has averaged 28 in Tests, and the only team who have done worse are the West Indies.
Indian middle-order mainstays in SENA countries since 2017
Since 2017, only nine batters have scored over 2,000 Test runs, batting between no.3 and 6. Rahane’s average of 35.9 is the lowest on the list, even below Ben Stokes, who plays in the England side as an all-rounder. In SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) nations, Rahane’s average (29.17) is lower than Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja during the timeframe. Both average 39, respectively.
The alarming numbers are reason enough for constructive criticism.
The good sign, though, is that Rahane and Pujara got runs in their final outing. Although their partnership on Day 4 provided India with some relief in terms of saving the Lord’s Test, it was the Jasprit Bumrah-Mohammed Shami partnership that provided India with a glimmer of hope of winning it. Of course, they later starred with the ball alongside Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma to seal a memorable win.
While it was a rare win achieved through a complete team effort, India’s middle-order remains such a concern that even England, a side who have woefully struggled with their batting, managed a first-innings lead in the Lord's Test.
In the ongoing series, Pujara, Rahane and Kohli have averaged 23.33, 22.33 and 20.66, respectively. A good showing from the Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, followed by a resilient tail, has come to their rescue.
Batting in England has been India’s Achilles heel over the past decade. An off game for the openers, and England may return in the series.
Batting averages in England since 2011
India’s tryst with team selection issues
Team selection is a tough job when you have quality aplenty. Team India under Virat Kohli have made some dubious decisions in the past and some have gone on to hurt the side despite all the right intentions.
While the batting has taken a backseat, it’s the bowling that has won India most matches. For almost six years now, they have been the best bowling side globally, averaging 24.
As part of their habit, India’s bowlers have again architected their success-monument in the ongoing series. But one still has to wonder if leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin is a smart call?
Irrespective of the conditions, would Australia take a call to leave out Shane Warne? Ashwin has been India’s biggest match-winner in the recent past, and he also adds more cushion to the team’s batting. The four-man pace attack has worked for India, but to ignore the in-form no.2-ranked Test bowler, who averages 28 in England, is shredding off its strength.
On the eve of the clash, Kohli implied that he isn’t a fan of changing the winning combination. However, he also acknowledged that India were surprised to see less grass on the Leeds track, and a lot of the surface could be seen, and therefore, he didn’t rule out Ashwin’s chances. Weather conditions are also expected to remain dry.
If there’s spin on offer, Ashwin must play as he’s one of the rare spinners who has mastered the art of bowling with the SG, Dukes and the Kookaburra cherries. The way he set up Steve Smith in Australia was a fine example of his prowess across conditions, and he was also impressive in the WTC final, a surface that had little purchase for spinners.
India’s investments and interests in Test cricket have put them in a situation where they can leave out Ashwin. Meanwhile, England’s current priority towards the white ball has seen them compile a monstrous batting line-up under Eoin Morgan. In contrast, in Test cricket, it’s captain Joe Root singlehandedly dragging the ruins called batting.
Having amassed two centuries and a fifty from his four innings this series, Root’s quite the thorn in India’s way. And the England captain won’t miss Ashwin in the opposition. He averages 27 against the ace Indian off-spinner, having fallen to him five times in Test cricket.
England’s batting is brittle, and this is India’s best chance to maximize the damage, going for the kill. If Dawid Malan plays, they will have four left-handers (Rory Burns, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran) expected to pile up runs. In Ashwin, India have kryptonite for left-handed batters.
Trivia: In 2002, India won at Leeds under seaming conditions. Sourav Ganguly had surprised the fraternity by electing to bat on a green track. He also played two spinners – Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. Both had good games.
Even if India’s middle-order stands up to expectations and the side get their best bowlers to play, Kohli’s men may well be on course this time to etch history on English soil.