England vs India 2014 - 2nd Test: Ifs and buts

India completed its first away winafter a gap of 15 matches extending over 3 years bybeating England by 95 runs in the 2ndTest at Lords. Many things went according to MS Dhonisplans resulting in a historicwin and England were at the receiving end. Here, let us have a look at some of the important performances/phases or external factorsthat might have completely changed the outcome of the match at Lords.

#1 What if Ishant Sharma was dropped after poor warm-up games?

The lanky bowler did not bowl any inspiring spell in the two warm-up matches India played against Leicestershire and Derbyshire. He was clearly struggling with his run-ups and was not able to generate pace on the ball to a greater extent. He bowled 7 no-balls in 9 overs (2/64) in the first match and 11 no-balls in 19 overs(0/59) in the second. 

Pankaj Singh, Varun Aaron and Ishwar Pandey were on the wings and even though chances were minimal, the result at Lord’s might have been different, if not for his short ball burst on day 5.