What's new

Shaky Indian batting gives England the edge

giri26

T20I Debutant
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Runs
8,468
Post of the Week
1
The Indian team came out of the practice game against Essex with more questions than answers.

In spite of having a stellar run in Test cricket, the Indian team never bore a settled look over that time. The constant chopping and changing of personnel in the India Test team has left it with an unsettled batting line up.

The Indian team haven’t experimented a lot either. Karun Nair, who scored that memorable 300, hasn’t found a spot in the XI and hasn’t played too much cricket since then. The opening position has been like musical chairs between Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and Kannanur Lokesh Rahul. Rohit Sharma has been in and out of the XI as well, and his selection in South Africa ahead of Ajinkya Rahane drew a lot of flak.

The only spot which has been constant over the last two years has been the captaincy. The rest of the players have been dropped for one reason or the other over the last couple of years.

The main problem for the Indian captain is that his number three, Cheteshwar Pujara, has been struggling as well. Pujara, who has been in the UK for about three months now, has struggled with the bat. He did not score any runs in county cricket, and his failure in the practice match raises doubts on his inclusion in the XI.

Pujara’s struggles outside Subcontinent are well documented. He averages 27.3 in 35 innings with just 1 hundred and 4 fifties. I feel that time is running out for the Indian number three. He bats for a long time with little output, and the Indian team, which plays only five specialist batsmen, cannot afford such a player in the XI.

India came to England with an option of playing all three openers in the XI, which received a huge jolt, with Shikhar Dhawan getting a pair in the practice game. Dhawan also had an indifferent limited-overs leg of the tour. Murali Vijay and KL Rahul were among the runs in the practice game, which means that both of them will be part of the XI. Karun Nair, who is another batsman in the squad, did not get many runs with the chance he got to bat.

India also has two wicketkeepers in the squad who both look in great form. Dinesh Karthik scored 82 and Rishabh Pant, who came at the end of the innings, scored an unbeaten 34. There is also a possibility of playing both the keepers considering Dinesh Karthik is an excellent fielder as well. Karthik, who has opened in the past in England, may also be considered for the number three spot, with Rishabh Pant playing at number six

The English team, though, will be quietly confident. Their bowling attack will be extremely tough to negotiate in home conditions. The Indian think tank still have a lot of tough calls to make.

The advantage for the hosts is that Joe Root and Alastair Cook both look in tremendous form. Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler have been in brilliant form throughout the year. Moeen Ali’s return gives them the much-needed boost lower down the order along with Ben Stokes.

The English team looks the more settled of the two. The Indian team’s lack of interest and intent in the practice game did not help matters as well. India could have really benefitted from an additional day of batting in the game against Essex.

With just over a day to go for the first Test to begin, the Indian camp has some serious selection headaches and at the moment the English team look the firm favourites to win the series.
 
Last edited:
Well the more I think about this series, the more doubts I get as to how will this Indian team can possibly win this series. India’s best chance will be to go with a defensive frame of mind in this rather long series. Pujara is the key for me. If he gets a hundred, that would mean he has pretty much batted the entire day. India will have to grind England into the 5th day and somehow find that session where England loses focus. My advise to all Indian batters is to play in the Pujara/Misbah mode...Or else most games will finish in 3/4 days.
 
I just don't get the flak Pujara gets. He already takes the shine of the new ball and makes it easier for guys like Kohli and Rahane. India tried Rahane at 3 in SL, didn't work out.

While Pujara might not have prolific numbers like Kohli or Rahane, he is better equipped to handle new ball than these two and India's best bet at no 3.
 
I just don't get the flak Pujara gets. He already takes the shine of the new ball and makes it easier for guys like Kohli and Rahane. India tried Rahane at 3 in SL, didn't work out.

While Pujara might not have prolific numbers like Kohli or Rahane, he is better equipped to handle new ball than these two and India's best bet at no 3.

I surely don't this this "Taking the shine" of the ball nonsense. Rahul Dravid did that for India with great success. He not only took the shine of the ball but also continued batting and scored big runs. Pujara does that in the subcontinent but overseas, batting for a long time and not scoring anything doesn't help the team in anyways. We saw that in England (2014), in Australia (2014/15) and also in SA (2018). If Pujara wants to be regular number 3 for India, he needs to do more than just take the shine of the ball. I am fed up of him playing 100 balls for 20 and then throwing his wicket away with India tottering at 50/2 or 50/3 in 25 overs.
 
I surely don't this this "Taking the shine" of the ball nonsense. Rahul Dravid did that for India with great success. He not only took the shine of the ball but also continued batting and scored big runs. Pujara does that in the subcontinent but overseas, batting for a long time and not scoring anything doesn't help the team in anyways. We saw that in England (2014), in Australia (2014/15) and also in SA (2018). If Pujara wants to be regular number 3 for India, he needs to do more than just take the shine of the ball. I am fed up of him playing 100 balls for 20 and then throwing his wicket away with India tottering at 50/2 or 50/3 in 25 overs.

Then who bats at no 3 for India? Only option is Rahul but it would mean Dhawan opening the innings and he is a proven failure outside subcontinent especially in England. You could push Rahane at 3 but his reluctance to take a long stride will make it harder for him to survive against the moving ball. Till you find a better batsman capable of handling the moving ball, Pujara is the best option.
 
Then who bats at no 3 for India? Only option is Rahul but it would mean Dhawan opening the innings and he is a proven failure outside subcontinent especially in England. You could push Rahane at 3 but his reluctance to take a long stride will make it harder for him to survive against the moving ball. Till you find a better batsman capable of handling the moving ball, Pujara is the best option.

Yup he is the only option at the moment but he is not the right one. India need to fast track Prithvi Shaw to open the batting, so that we can play Rahul at number 3. Pujara has already played 35 innings outside subcontinent and possibly will get 10 more. I don't think his rope will stretch beyond this English tour, if he fails. He will lose his spot for good even for the home games.
 
Yup he is the only option at the moment but he is not the right one. India need to fast track Prithvi Shaw to open the batting, so that we can play Rahul at number 3. Pujara has already played 35 innings outside subcontinent and possibly will get 10 more. I don't think his rope will stretch beyond this English tour, if he fails. He will lose his spot for good even for the home games.

Vijay needs to be replaced soon, he is on wrong side of 30s and hasn't looked threatening in his last few test matches. Shaw could be paired with Rahul and then we could search for back up opener who is technically strong and not a hack like Dhawan.
 
If there ever was a chance for Rahul and Kohli to score in England, this is it. Wickets wont be of much support this time of the year and both struggle against moving ball big time while Broad and Anderson are on their last legs.
 
Last edited:
India has to play 5 bowlers , its a long series , need to give main bowlers rest in between
 
I just don't get the flak Pujara gets. He already takes the shine of the new ball and makes it easier for guys like Kohli and Rahane. India tried Rahane at 3 in SL, didn't work out.

While Pujara might not have prolific numbers like Kohli or Rahane, he is better equipped to handle new ball than these two and India's best bet at no 3.

Irrespective of number of balls faced, if your number 3 isn't scoring runs, he should not be a regular in the side. Pujara exactly has the same problem, gets to 20s and 30s and then gets out due to mostly chinks in his technique. An away average of 28 in Aus, Eng, SA and NZ exposes his mediocrity. If after 4 series in these nations, he has only continued to regress, no reason why we should not try out younger batsmen. At worst, they will fail and we'll lose, which is happening anyways despite Pujara taking shine off new ball.

Why can't a Karun Nair or Shreyas Iyer be given an opportunity. Yes they maybe hacks, but who knows how they'll perform when the team management gives them confidence and a run of 2-3 series like Pujara.
 
India need to do something to address their long tail. Given the time of year and the weather the UK’s been getting I’d drop Umesh and pick Jadeja. 2 seamers+2 spinners+Pandya should be enough in the bowling department and Jadeja batting at 9 can make a big difference not to mention his superb fielding too.
 
7 batsman and 4 bowler
We have taken 70 out of 70 wickets in lazt 7 away innings in SA and Eng. Yes conditions have been favorable, Pandya has not been great with the ball but his 10 overs a day give oportunity to Kohli to rest and rotate pacers.

Also Pandya fought very well at a difficult time. His 22(52) is mostly what Pujara at 3 has contributed away from home. So combination is not much if a problem. Some guys in that top 5 need to step up.
 
I’d go into the Lords test with:

Dhawan
Vijay
Pujara/Rahul
Kohli
Rahane
Karthik
Pandya
Ashwin
Jadeja
Shami
Ishant


Otherwise the tail is going to be exposed test after test.

Lower order runs are so important - just look at England today.
 
Last edited:
Whatever happened to Karun Nair?

The triple centurion?
 
Whatever happened to Karun Nair?

The triple centurion?

He's in this test squad. After his triple century he had a poor series vs Australia - scoring 26,0, 23 and 5 and then he was dropped for the SL series (for Rohit Sharma) and hasn't played since. Think he's been hard done by, he should have played the SL series at least.

Some decent performances for India A last month brought him back into the test squad here.
 
I’d go into the Lords test with:

Dhawan
Vijay
Pujara/Rahul
Kohli
Rahane
Karthik
Pandya
Ashwin
Jadeja
Shami
Ishant


Otherwise the tail is going to be exposed test after test.

Lower order runs are so important - just look at England today.

Lol the runs were gifted by Dhawan Karthik drop catches, just like th eway Kohli got it in the irst inning. Lower order runs should not matter if top order can not score a 100
 
/\/\/\

In theory perhaps but in practice look at Sam Curren - his runs at number 8 both in the first and second innings were crucial.
 
Good thread by a very good poster.

I think Lords will be flat and will get drier as soon as game progresses. So, expect lots of runs in the first inning.
 
This was always on the cards. Drop Dhawan, play Rahul as opener and bring back Pujara.
 
I would strengthen the batting by including an all-rounder, preferably a spinner like Jadeja.

If Ashwin and Jadeja were bowling in tandem in this Test, England would have struggled to cross 175.
 
shaky indian batting gives england the edge.

you mean it given england the whole series - aka 5-0
 
Back
Top