"India might have to leave a couple of players out" - RP Singh after Day 1 of India vs England second Test
Former Indian pacer RP Singh believes the hosts will need to take some tough calls concerning their batting line-up after an underwhelming performance on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
The likes of Shubman Gill (34) and Shreyas Iyer (27) got off to starts but couldn't convert them into big scores. With every failure, the questioning on their spot in the Test XI continues to increase.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after the end of play on Day 1, here's what RP Singh had to say about the two batters and India's decision-making as a batting line-up (9:03):
"I feel India have to make some harsh calls and leave a couple of players out of the team going forward. I am really disappointed with Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. They are with the team for quite some time now and need to take more responsibility. If you score 25-30 runs and then throw your wicket, then it's hurting the team."
Debutant Rajat Patidar was dismissed in an unfortunate fashion for 32, not before playing some impressive shots. However, RP Singh felt that Patidar was a bit nervous. Regarding his performance, he said (11:57):
"Rajat Patidar had enough first-class experience before making his debut. He has scored a lot of runs. However, he looked a bit jittery against the England bowling attack. He will need to leave the balls better.
"Some of his leaves were a bit too tight and could have cost him had it not been a good batting pitch. The butterflies in the stomach took some time to get settled."
Apart from Patidar, all the other Indian wickets were arguably soft dismissals that could have been avoided. They have scored 336 runs on the day, but have also lost six wickets on a good batting pitch.
RP Singh on how India should play on Day 2
RP Singh feels Yashasvi Jaiswal will need to take the bulk of the strike and ensure the hosts do not collapse early on Day 2. He reckons the planning should be a lot better in terms of which England bowler to attack. On this, he stated (15:50):
"Ashwin will need to ensure that the set batter (Jaiswal) plays most of the deliveries. They will need to target the right bowlers that they want to go after and play others carefully. India are still quite away from where they would want to be after their first innings."
While Jaiswal's splendid 179* helped India score runs at a brisk pace, RP Singh believes they won't be happy about losing six wickets. The former pacer thinks the hosts need to get to 450 to feel confident.