India displayed a highly impressive show in the Rajkot Test, particularly in the second half. There are many positives from that game moving forward in the series. I thought they were under pressure on several occasions in the first two days of the Test and managed to come out of it every time.
They were 33 for 3 early in the game and they made a comeback from there. India rejigged their batting order, but they managed it well, at the end of the day. Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma played well to get them to a position of strength. Rohit did have a slice of luck, but you need those chances as a batter. He took advantage of that and got himself a hundred. India responded well to pressure with the bat and Jadeja, Rohit should be credited for that.
India were equally brilliant with the ball when they were under pressure in the first innings. On Day 3, they were under tremendous pressure with Ben Duckett and Joe Root at the crease. I think the way Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj bowled was magnificent. Remember that there was no R Ashwin on that day, so, they needed to find strength from somewhere. Rohit’s captaincy was better on Day 3 than it was on Day 2. England did not do themselves a huge favour on Day 3 with the bat and ball.
I thought there were lots of impressive moments in the game, not limited to just individual performances but also to seeing how some players gathered strength in adversity, when they were under pressure. It is a good sign for moving forward. Someone like Sarfaraz Khan, moving to Ranchi Test, must be in great mind space and confident. Same thing for Dhruv Jurel. With so many senior players missing, who are likely to come straight in when they are back, what these young cricketers have done is strengthen the bench.
Credit should be given to the management for how they dealt with them. Especially with Sarfaraz, making sure he goes in at the right time rather than at 33 for 3.
Rohit’s captaincy was brilliant. He was more inventive with the field placings. Clearly, they had a good chat overnight. Watching Rohit and Dravid on the field of play before the start of third day, you could see that they were quite specific about the field placement plans, about how they were going to approach the day. They had done a lot of thinking about how they were going to bowl at someone like Duckett. That innings from him was one of the best I have seen in the subcontinent by an English player. It was extraordinary innings. That intensity typifies the very good use of resources which is what I call ‘Bazball’.
How India structure their side for upcoming game, I guess, will depend on the pitch again. Jasprit Bumrah not playing the fourth Test is a massive development as he has been given a rest. They need to find a solution to this situation, finding a replacement for Bumrah, either in the form of Akash Deep or Mukesh Kumar. Or maybe in the form of Washington Sundar or Axar Patel. One expects Mohammed Siraj, Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep to play. It looks unlikely that they will go in with an extra spinner.
I am a big fan of Axar Patel, and he can come in as the fourth-spin bowling option. But the only question is whether you can get enough overs out of the fourth-spin bowling option. I am not sure about this move unless the pitch demands it. Otherwise, I think I am going to go with the balance of two seamers and the 3 spinners.
Mukesh bowled a couple of overs against England in Vizag while Akash bowled well against England A recently. Then, you think about Avesh Khan and realise then timing is everything. He was in the original Test match squad. I do not know if he is fully fit now. But if he is then it is tough on him as he was picked in the original squad. With Bumrah resting, he does not find himself in the squad.
Mukesh did not have a great outing against England in the 2nd Test. The way things are going for India, I will probably be looking at someone like Akash Deep to play in Ranchi.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have been outstanding at the top. The batting lineup is looking very solid now. If KL Rahul was available for selection, one would have expected him to replace Rajat Patidar.
England must look to identify match situation
As far as England are concerned, they have done a lot of good things in the last two years. There were good signs in the Rajkot game as well. And I hope they learned their lessons. I hope they look back honestly at one or two moments which they could have won in Rajkot. I would not advocate any change to their policy or their aggressive attitude. I think it has served them well. But there were moments in the game on Day 3 when the England batters failed to identify the game situation. The way Joe Root got dismissed is one such example.
Bearing in mind Ashwin was not available to bowl on Day 3 and Bumrah would have bowled one spell on the morning, I felt England should have read the game better at the stage. I hope they do that in the next Test. That was the day when the game was lost and won for me. England were 224 for 2 at one stage and then lost eight wickets for under 100. I will reiterate the same line that England need to identify the match situation a little better.
I will be surprised if Mark Wood plays. I would certainly like Jimmy Anderson to play. They can bring in someone like Ollie Robinson who is a very skillful bowler. It could be a challenging task for him if it is a flat pitch, but he should enjoy bowling in these conditions. He will certainly be my pick.
Jonny Bairstow will be under a lot of pressure in terms of his selection in this game. However, if he is mentally in a good place, there is no reason to not pick him. I would back him. England need something special in this Test match and Bairstow is a very special player who has played many a special knock in the past.
If he is in a position mentally where he feels like he can flourish in these conditions, you pick him. If that is not the case and he is a little down mentally then you could always go with Dan Lawrence, who is a good player of spin. But my preferred option will be Bairstow.
England too can look to play just one seamer and bring back Shoaib Bashir. But again, the same question arises: how many overs a fourth-spinner can bowl knowing Joe Root too is there. That
is why I feel England should go with two seamers and three spinners. It is difficult to make an XI without looking at the pitch but that is pretty much how I see the balance of the visitors right now. No radical changes are required for England.
Having said that, Stokes may bowl as he has been practicing a lot and if he bowls, it will add balance to the side. If pitch looks like turning early in the game, then there would be possibility of one seamer and bringing back Bashir with Stokes bowling some overs
This Test match will test England a lot. They must hurt after the loss in the Rajkot Test. But the other thing to remember is that while the margin of win was huge, and it is one of the biggest losses for England in Tests but that is also a back-handed compliment for England. Had there not been the threat of England batters, the opposition would have declared way before. India wanted to ensure they gave England a target of over 500 and not just 300 or 350 because they knew the reputation of these batters. There are different ways to look at the result. England, I am sure, would look at it in this way too.
Finally, I am sure Joe Root will be itching to be counted. He has not had a great outing so far. He was looking good in the 2nd innings too, trying to dig deep. But Jadeja got better of him. However, don’t write off root in this series yet.
