When did India last play a Test match without Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara?
In what is one of the most anticipated series of the year, Team India are set to host England for a five-match Test series, spanning 46 days. The first Test will be played at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, starting on Thursday, January 25.
Ahead of the high-octane Test series, India received a huge blow, with Virat Kohli unavailable for the first two Tests. The former Indian captain has cited personal reasons for taking a two-week break from international cricket.
Kohli, who is the current Indian player with the most Test appearances (113 Tests), looked in superb touch during the recent two-match Test series in South Africa. He holds a vital cog in the Indian middle order and will certainly be missed in the first two Tests.
Without Kohli, India's middle order undoubtedly seems inexperienced. This is because the Indian team management has already moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. The two senior cricketers held their fort for over a decade and played a combined total of 188 Test matches between them.
However, due to constant dips in their batting form over the last couple of years, India has now looked at other options in the middle order. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul are getting regular gigs on the Test side.
With Kohli opting out of the first two Tests and both Pujara and Rahane not part of the Indian squad as of now, the Hyderabad Test against England would be the first instance where India's Test side won't be featuring any one of the trio in over the last 12 years.
India last played a Test without either Kohli, Rahane, or Pujara in 2011
It is interesting to note that the last time India played a Test without any of these three batters in the starting XI was way back in November 2011. India played the first two Tests of the three-match home Test series against the West Indies without Kohli, Rahane, and Pujara.
After India won the first Test by five wickets in Delhi, the two sides locked horns in the second encounter at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Indian captain, MS Dhoni, won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test.
Indian openers Gautam Gambhir (65) and Virender Sehwag enjoyed a steady start and added 66 runs for the opening wicket. At No. 3, came Rahul Dravid and made a rollicking century. While Dravid made 119, Sachin Tendulkar missed out and was dismissed for 38.
However, the West Indian bowlers had more misery to suffer as VVS Laxman and Dhoni joined forces to stitch together a huge partnership of 224 runs. Both Laxman and Dhoni completely put the visiting bowlers to the sword and racked up their respective centuries.
While Laxman remained unbeaten at a superb 176, Dhoni played at a strike rate of 82.29 for his 175-ball 144. On the back of their dominance, India made a mountainous 631/7 before declaring their innings on Day 2.
In reply, the West Indies fared horrendously, to say the least. The visitors got bundled out for just 153 runs, giving India a first-innings lead of 478 runs. Unsurprisingly, Dhoni opted to enforce the follow-on.
In their second essay, however, the Caribbean unit showcased some grit and put up a strong fight. Top-order batters Adrian Barath (62) and Kirk Edwards (60) scored fifties before Darren Bravo came up with a resounding century. The left-hander played 230 deliveries for his superb 136 runs. Marlon Samuels also scored an attacking 84 as the West Indies toiled for 126.3 overs. They made 463 runs but were still left some runs short of the Indian lead and eventually lost the game by an innings and 15 runs.
For India, Umesh Yadav took seven wickets in the match, but VVS Laxman was adjudged Player of the Match for his unbeaten 176-run knock.