India in England, 2018

[Prashant]

Why is India still batting with a 450+ lead???

[prasen9]

Why not? Ashwin is injured. And the rest reads Ishant, Shami, Bumrah, Pandya. If the weather is not helping swing, the pitch does not have much. We may need 500 runs. We did not lose much. On the other hand, maybe Ashwin will be rested a bit more and get near fuller fitness.

So, all the batsmen have batted below par except Kohli. And, maybe Pandya did okay for an al-rounder. All the bowlers have bowled well except Shami. It is time for Shami to rattle England in I2 and win this with us. Of course, I do not care who wins it for us.

Surprisingly, Pant does not seem as competent with the bat but seemed pretty safe with respect to keeping. Maybe the real test will be when he goes home on spinning pitches. But, given that our players so much, we can have a home keeper and an away keeper. I have not seen his keeping much and he is not technically as sound as Saha. But, he seemed to be doing fine when I watched. Anyone else who has seen his keeping has any comments?

[prasen9]

Pant dropped Buttler. Proving costly so far. Buttler batting at 27*.

[prasen9]

The bowlers did fine but Pant and Kohli dropped a catch each. Kohli's was a bit tough but should be taken. The last was off Shami, who still seems not back to full form Too erratic. Ashwin has bowed so-so too. His fitness should be scrutinized before the next test.

I hope we get a bunch of young openers and batsmen for T4 and T5 though.

[ssp]

Frustrating day. That drop by Pant was very costly as Butler got his first test 100. Then Bumrah got Rashid out but overstepped and Kohli dropped Broad. So we have to go into a 5th day.
Bumrah was excellent with the 2nd new ball.

For the 4th test, we should go with Bumrah, Bhuvi (if fit) and Hardik and 2 spinners.

[prasen9]

Why two spinners? Ashwin has been barely ok. I'd go with Ishant if the conditions are overcast. Anyway, Bhuvi will not be fit. We should keep the current crop. Maybe Kuldeep and Thakur can be released.

Wrt the batting, we should make wholesale changes though.

For the fifth test, if it is a sunny day at The Oval, we can consider two spinners.

[ssp]

Isn't Southampton good for spinners? if not, then yes, one (fit) spinner.

[prasen9]

I guess Moeen took a bunch of wickets against us. But Jadeja did not do very well in that test. Who knows. If the pitch is indeed not green and the conditions are meant to be sunny, we can get Ashwin and Jadeja if both are fit instead of three pacers. There have been two tests at Southampton ever. Sri Lanka drew with England and we lost.

[Atithee]

I don’t think batting needs wholesale changes. It’s an attitude change we must demand regardless of who we choose. Their number 1 task should be to focus on retaining their wicket in the first hour. Personally, I think Pujara is best suited for this role, unless he has some sort of mental block. Nair or anyone else is not going to be any better nor significantly worse. I’ll leave the team the way it is now. I can’t believe I’m advocating for “I shan’t” to be retained but he has earned it. I just wish he would also bat seriously to extend our tail.

[ssp]

Bhuvi definitely out of the 4th test? Will he make the 5th test?

6,7,8,9,10 or of Pandya, Pant, Ashwin, Jadeja & Bhuvi seems better than the top order (apart from Kohli)

[Sin Hombre]

Bhuvi likely won't be selected because of lack of "match fitness".

Bumrah really needs to fix his no-balling. That stands between him and a genuine world class bowler.

Bit of a shame that Pant's drop proved so expensive though hopefully not with the end result.

[PKBasu]

Very satisfying test match overall. Rahane and Pujara regaining form (hence, confidence) is a big plus. That Pandya is becoming a genuine allrounder is another one. (It is silly to expect him to be a Kapil Dev, but becoming Abid Ali+ is good enough for me). The pacers are doing well, and only Shami is a slight question mark: if Bhuvi is fit, he could come in for Shami.
At Southampton, we should play one spinner (Jadeja, if Ashwin is still nursing the injury). At the Oval both Jadeja and Ashwin should play -- and Kuldeep could replace Ash if the latter is still injured.

[jaydeep]

Interesting selections as Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari have been called up to India's Test squad for last two tests in the places of Vijay and Kuldeep Yadav.

[prasen9]

Longer term Rahane is possibly a better fit for #3 because he cannot play spin that well. I think he should have the technique to see off the new ball as much as Pujara can do. On the plus side, he can accelerate if needed.

I would prefer a Dhawan + Shaw opening in order to have a right-left combination. I am tired of Rahul giving his wicket away with loose shots.

Nair has not been dropped. He should perhaps be next in line and Vihari is possibly behind him. If not, Nair should have been dropped.

[PKBasu]

Good decision to replace Vijay with Prithwi Shaw in the squad. It doesn't seem likely that he will get a test immediately, but being part of the squad should help him -- and the same is true of Vihari. I would have preferred Vihari to replace Nair rather than Kuldeep though, given that the Oval will almost always be spinner-friendly, especially at the end of the English summer.