Indian team and their Overseas woes in Tests
The ongoing Test series between India and England is yet another depiction of the struggles of the Indian team in overseas conditions; be it South Africa, England, Australia or New Zealand. It promises a lot everytime but doesn't deliver. So, where did India lose this time around when it was to be believed to be their best possible chance to conquer?
Indian team came to this series with a lot of confidence and after winning the T20 series the level of confidence soared high. But they got a reality check in the ODI series and eventually lost it 1-2. And the tour was set up beautifully for the final encounter and the much awaited and talked about Test series.
It had to be a cracker of a series, no doubt; and both India and Kohli started off well in the promising a series victory after a long gap. But, the same old story was repeated; the bowlers did well, took 20 wickets but the batsmen failed to complement their efforts. Indian team is believed to be a batting dominated nation, but these batsmen are failing recently to deliver goods, which eventually leads to series loss, previously in South Africa and now here in England.
India is blessed to have so many fast bowling options lately, which were not to be found 5-6 years ago. They are picking up 20 wickets and rattling up the opposition with their fiery spells. But the thing that is hurting the most is the application by the batsmen in these conditions. Their impatience in the middle is not getting the runs on the board.
The track would be seaming and bouncing outside Asia, and every player knows that. But, despite this knowledge, the batsmen are still not applying themselves in. Playing practice matches could have helped, but they opted out of it; first in South Africa and now in England, eventually losing the series.
So, getting up the confidence by playing in some practice matches and acclimatizing to the conditions overseas can change the fortune of team India. The batsmen need to apply themselves and deliver what is expected out of them. Personally, this is still the best touring Indian side that can conquer the world; only if the pieces of the puzzle are arranged properly!