India in England, 2018

[Sin Hombre]

To count PKB - I hope we don't mess with Rahul. For me, he is a special talent whom Kohli needs if we have to win in England / Australia / NZ. We just need to figure out the options for Vijay / Rahane / Dhawan and I feel Pujara is not one of them.

I have long been a supporter but what is the evidence that he can play well in swinging or seaming conditions. We know he can play spin and bounce well.

[Sin Hombre]

110-5 at the end of day, 84 more runs with 5 wkts in hand.....

Virat needs partners. Karthik like Rahul is an extremely jittery starter, if he can show the application / focus like he did today to score his first 10 runs, then we would be in a decent state. Ideally Pandya comes in when its not more than 50 needed.

Karthik is fidgety and not just at the start. He is batting for his career here given his keeping wasn't great.

The day break came at a bad time for us since the ball wasn't moving as much anymore. Kohli also struggles at the start of innings and tomorrow will feel like that.

[prasen9]

Rahane has done way more abroad in swinging and seaming conditions than Pujara. However, Rahane seems to have gone onto a long slump. But, given that nobody except Kohli has really done anything consistently in the SANE countries, Rahane should continue.

I would be fine with Pujara and Rahul with Dhawan dropped. But, if we do not think Nair can cut it, then why is he in the team? Pujara and Dhawan have had a long stint overseas and have failed in the SANE countries. It is time we give Nair the chance at least to learn and get better. I do not think Pujara and Dhawan will ever make it in these conditions. No point repeating the same failed experiments again and again and hoping for better!

[ankit1407]

Pandya thinks of himself as Steve Waugh giving full overs to tail .. mindless batting ..159-9..

Poor kohli just carrying the burden of the complete team..India lose by 31 runs ...

[PKBasu]

I don't know why it is Dhawan's head that is always the first one everyone wants. He was dropped without reason in SA after the first test, and here he was the next highest scorer after Kohli in the first innings, and got a reasonable 13 in the second innings. The guy who failed was Rahul; so he should make way for Pujara at Lord's.
I would also play Jadeja as the all-rounder, especially at Lord's and the Oval. If Pandya is to play, he must bowl more overs.

Ideally, I would replace Vijay with Prithwi Shaw, but that is the sort of radical step that seems very unlikely. He was the standout for India A, and is now perfectly familiar with English conditions.

[Sin Hombre]

Because Dhawan is terrible and given his age, has no upside?

Almost 33; and an average of 20 in England, 18 in SA and 27 in Australia. One fifty over 20 innings!

He is so bad in these conditions that PKB thinks 13 is a reasonable score for him



In any case, we are going to get crushed in this series. Kohli can't outscore half of England in every test match and this will be a shattering defeat.

[karr]

We shouldn't have to be consigned to a shattering defeat just because we lost the 1st test. There were positives - we did get England out for low totals, 287 and 180 are scores that our batsmen ought to be chasing. So while the batting is clearly Kohli dependent, atleast the bowling, if not all the bowlers, showed up.

I wonder how much worse our batting can get - maybe the only direction is up. I also think this team has more mettle and steel than past teams, so I am hopeful of a fight.

I was pretty disappointed that DK didn't hang in longer. That early wicket to Anderson in the morning really set us back.

For the next test, I wonder if we should just retain the entire top 6 and see if they can be the better for the acclimatization. The experience from the 1st test ought to count for something.

I thought Hardik hung in and showed grit. 22 of 52 in I1 and 31 of 61 in I2 is decent stuff. However its his bowling that's a problem. For an allrounder, you can't just bowl 10 overs in an entire match. England's all-rounders were top-notch in comparison and seem World Class. Stokes and Curran won them the game with both bat and ball. Look at their bowling - Stokes pulled in 19 overs in I1 and 14 in I2. Curran was 17 and 8.
Going back to the RSA series, Hardik bowled 1st Match - I1: 12, I2: 6, (3 wickets), 2nd - I1: 16, I2: 9 (0 wickets), 3rd - I1: 2, I2: 6, (0 wickets). That's a pretty poor bowling record in overseas conditions - 3 wickets in 3 matches when 60 RSA wickets fell. Its his grit that still gives me hope - I sincerely hope the team management is working on his bowling.
All that said, again, its not the bowling that's the problem. Yes, Curran's blitz was the difference between winning and losing this game, but the bats need to show up. I have been a believer in Vijay, but if he doesn't perform in this series, we should move on. Give him 2 more matches and that's it. We should adopt the same with Dhawan and DK. And we have to pray and prostrate to God that Rahane finds form and comes to Kohli's rescue.

[PKBasu]

Murali Vijay's last five tests outside India have yielded: 7 and dnb; 1 & 13; 46 & 9; 8 & 25; 20 & 6.

He is 34+. Shikhar Dhawan actually is 32+. In his last five tests outside India, Dhawan made: 190 & 14; 35 & dnb; 119 & dnb; 16 & 16; 26 & 13.

The first three of Dhawan's innings above were in Sri Lanka. If you'd prefer to include the West Indies series, he made 84 in the test in which Vijay made 7. And 27, 1 and 26 in the other two tests there (which Vijay didn't play through injury). The guy who has really padded his record with home performances is Vijay.

[PKBasu]

At Lord's (starting this Thursday), Jadeja has to play. Lord's does help spinners, and this year's dry and warm conditions make that even more likely. The next two tests (at Trent Bridge and Southampton) will be on pace-friendly pitches, but Lord's is where we should be looking to win one -- and the Oval offers another such opportunity for our spinners in the fifth test. (I would play Kuldeep ahead of Umesh there, unless the latter can show some real form soon).

[karr]

At the end of the day, neither Vijay nor Dhawan did what's expected of a test opener.
Vijay scored 26 runs of 52 balls for both innings put together. Horrible. Dhawan scored 39 of 70 balls. Better than Vijay, but pretty poor nevertheless. We need test openers to last more than 11 overs, per inning leave alone for an entire match. With such poor records, comparing the two is rather meaningless. Neither is delivering. So both ought to be on notice that another test or two is about the leeway that will be given.

[Atithee]

Does Mayank Agrawal deserve a look as do Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant? What are we waiting to blood them for? We did the same for two years too many with the “fab four” even when they kept laying one egg after another. We seriously need to ask Rahul to open and drop Dhawan ASAP. Better yet, get Pujara to open. He has done it before. Let him eat some balls at least. He’s at least proven material for this role. Tell him that’s his job and if runs come, it’s great. Runs will come but only if you’re batting.

[PKBasu]

Yes, Pujara is clearly an option as opener, and he has done it well before.

I would have blooded Mayank Agarwal, given his absolutely spectacular vein of form, including a double-century for India A in the ongoing match in Bangalore against South Africa A. (Shaw also got 136, continuing his great form from England). But during the England tour with India A, Mayank was brilliant in the limited-overs matches (List A and T20), but quite underwhelming in the first-class games -- while Shaw shone in all forms. Shaw apparently has a technical flaw in his off-drives, but that hasn't prevented him getting runs. I would give him the first call, and Mayank (although older) next, especially for tests.

[prasen9]

If India has to win a match, Rahul and Rahane have to play long innings and support Kohli. The others just don't have the skills to do well, at least when the ball is swinging. Vijay used to but he is possibly past expiry date now.

[Sin Hombre]

Agree with karr that Vijay appears to be a lost cause as well.

If the team management believes that, I think we are better off going with Karthik and Rahul as the openers then with Pujara at 3.

[prasen9]

You are proposing to replace Vijay and Dhawan with Pujara and ? (Pant?). I don't think Karthik is that great in tests either. We pretty much have nobody who can bat abroad except Kohli now. Rahane could do it technically, but he has been out of form in tests in the last two years!

Somehow despite his terrible technique, Shaw keeps scoring runs. Maybe invest in him. Mayank Agarwal is also very good in sub-continent conditions. Can he do well in the SANE countries?

Given that Stokes will be busy with his court case, I think the pommies should get Ollie and Moeen for Malan and Stokes assuming The Lords pitch is dry-ish and will assist spin. Otherwise, replace Rashid with Woakes.