[ad_1]
If you are a fan of the Indian cricket team, your mind will be in a fix right now. Bazball touched down in India and although he didn’t create much buzz right away, he made a telling impact when it mattered most to snatch the first Test from India’s jaws. And history tells us that it is one of the most difficult tasks to carry out. When India is on top at home, they just don’t lose. In 91 years of Test cricket in India, Hyderabad was the first instance where the hosts lost after taking a lead of more than 100 in the first innings. If that doesn’t worry you as an Indian fan about what awaits you over the next month, then nothing will.
On the other hand, this is not the first time that India fared poorly in the first Test of a series against England at home. You just have to go back to the last two routes. In 2021, India suffered a tough defeat in Chennai in the first match of the series. The tosses for the next three Tests helped spin more and India won them all to take the series 3-1. In 2016 the first test was drawn. The pitches did not change drastically like in 2021, but India improved their game to win four in a row.
So there is hope and this Indian team knows how to come back, especially at home.
Apart from the challenges posed by a dynamic English team that redefines conventional cricket almost every time it steps on the field, India has its own concerns to contend with.
In the absence of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, this is by far the least experienced Indian batting line-up in recent times. The highest run-getter in the Indian team for the second Test is captain Rohit Sharma with 3800 runs. The next best is Ravichandran Ashwin’s 3222. Between Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KS Bharat, Gill alone has more than a thousand tests.
The situation is so bleak that the team management cannot even think of leaving out Gill or Iyer, who have not scored a half-century in their last 11 innings.
Sarfaraz Khan or Rajat Patidar will make their Test debut on Friday, but can they be allowed to bring about a change? They have had great success in India A and domestic cricket, but the Test field is a different beast and the weight of expectations is immense even for someone making their debut.
Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar to fill Jadeja void
What about the bowling lineup? Jadeja’s absence is a blow to all three departments. He is not only a lynchpin in the middle order, but also a leader and the team’s best outfielder. Who will be recruited to fill the void? The easiest option is to think about replacing him with a specialist bowler in Kuldeep Yadav. But that would mean putting pressure on Axar Patel and Ashwin to score runs with the bat.
There is another option. That means choosing Washington Sundar instead of Mohammed Siraj. Anyway, India didn’t need Siraj that much in Hyderabad and from the looks of it, it doesn’t look like they would need him in Visakhapatnam too. Jasprit Bumrah can do the job of the lone pacer.
Sundar’s entry will give India the same batting depth and also add another option with the ball. His height and different lengths will not make it easy for English batsmen to go for sweeps and reverse sweeps.
His last Test was against England in 2021, where he took one wicket and scored 96 runs, his highest score in red-ball cricket.
India predicted XI for second Test against England
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar/Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, KS Bharat, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah