Captain Virat Kohli may have to seriously consider playing his best spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, while hoping to outperform the experienced batting line-up when India take on England in the second Test starting at Lord’s on Thursday.
While India were in a better position to win the first Test before heaven opened on the final day, the first innings score of 278 was still not even as none of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane (a terrible mix) could score runs. .
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It should not be forgotten that the trio has not scored heavily in the last two years and barring Rahane, who scored a century in Melbourne, the other two batting mainstays have not been able to convert their half-centuries into three-figures. Mark.
As far as the team combination is concerned, Shardul Thakur’s hamstring injury has rejigged the lower-order batting balance even though the Mumbai pacer did not trouble the scorers in just one innings.
Ashwin, who was dropped from the playing XI in the opening match of the draw at Nottingham because of Ravindra Jadeja’s superior skills with the willow, is back in the mix as Thakur broke his hamstring during a training session at Lord’s on Monday. has caused some damage. .
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It is still not clear whether he suffered an injury during the first Test.
Despite Thakur’s ouster from the upcoming match, Kohli may have to rethink his 4-1 bowling combination, which cannot be stoned given the lean nature of his team’s lower-order batting.
In London, the maximum temperature is being recorded around 24 degrees and the average temperature is around 14 degrees.
It will be interesting to see if England retain the green top as in 2018 when the Indian batting fell twice in two days and all-rounder Chris Woakes walked away with the honours.
If the pitch is on the dry side, there can be no harm in playing both Ashwin and Jadeja, who with their various variations can trouble this delicate England batting line-up.
The poor quality of the new generation of England’s Test players was again exposed as captain Joe Root came to his team’s defense for the fifteenth time with a half-century in the first innings and a possibly match-saving 21st Test century in the second essay.
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There is every possibility that Rory Burns could be replaced by Haseeb Hameed, who scored a century opening the innings for United Counties against the Indians in a tour game last month.
For Kohli, if the four pacers are non-negotiable, either Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav will directly replace Thakur, but the choice may not be that easy.
“Most likely this will be a blueprint going forward [4-1 combination]But we have always adapted to the conditions and the pace of the wicket,” Kohli had said after the first Test.
But adaptability is the rider that was used by the Indian captain during the post-match conference and hence Ashwin, who is currently on the verge of surpassing Harbhajan Singh (417 wickets), comes into the picture.
If the captain feels that his batting needs to be suitably strengthened, Ashwin is the right choice if the weather permits, with something available on the Lord’s pitch on the fourth or fifth day.
England may miss their senior fast bowler Stuart Broad as he injured his right calf muscle during a training session which could possibly put him out of the game.
If the pitch provides some assistance, Moeen Ali, who has been included, may again like to torment the Indians like he did in the 2014 and ’18 series or the world’s fastest bowler Mark Wood, Whose average speed is 90 clicks per hour.
For India, KL Rahul would like to consolidate his position at the top of the order even though Mayank Agarwal’s return to the nets is a welcome sign for India.
Though the batting order cannot be tinkered with, Agarwal’s fitness could make Rahul a choice in the middle order, where he personally prefers to bat.
Although both Pujara and Rahane are not in the best of form at the moment, they will be replaced only in case of a possible last-minute injury.
test squad
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav.
England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Moeen Ali, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Jack Crowley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Mark Wood .
The match will start at 3:30 PM IST.
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