It is Advantage Team India

Well, Team India is 2-1 down, but the dominant mood is that they possess the upper hand at the moment, or have the momentum as the experts would say! But Team India needs to be cautious and would know that England would come back hard at them. After all it is their backyard, and a lot of pride is attached to playing infront of your own crowds; well almost.. many in the field are actually supporting Team India in large numbers, thanks to the large Indian diaspora in England.

This test match will be a closely fought one, and neither side would like to relent. England would like to ensure they shut out the Indian resurgence and Team India will be hoping to emulate themselves from the last test, and the great Sir Don Bradman's Team from 1936-37. (No team has been 2-0 down in a test series against England and won it from there) I am sure that is not playing on anyone's mind from either sides though. Just a small trivia from sports columnists.

So much conjecturing about England's team composition, and whether James Vince is worthy of playing ahead of the favoured and dependable Bairstow. Well in the end, Ollie Pope made way for Moeen Ali, and Sam Curran comes in for a slightly injured Woakes. Well for that matter, Bairstow was also injured, and perhaps will only bat. 

Instead everybody is wondering what would Kohli decide, and who would the Indian Team Management pick for the 4th Test. Kohli loves tinkering with his Test side, and has made changes in each of the Tests he has been Captain. There are some interesting choices in Prithvi Shaw, Karun Nair and Hanuma Vihari. Neither might make the cut, for this test atleast. Maybe for the dead rubber (if India lose this one), but otherwise Ravi Shastri and Kohli might not experiment in here. The only scare is Ashwin, and if he cannot bowl, then Jadeja should get a look-in. I am not such a big fan of an all pace attack, although pace bowlers have bowled with a lot of skill and heart. English batsmen have always had a weakness for spin, and even Jadeja, correction..Sir Jadeja is very effective if not deadly. 

All the best to both the teams, India would like to think they are the favorites walking into the ground, but England might have a better resolve this time around in not giving away an easy victory. The No. 1 Test side will need to stand up and deliver, otherwise the horror show from the first two tests might get replayed. Team India (especially the openers) need to guard against complacency. 

James Vince could open the batting?

While we cant wait for the next Test which begins at Southampton on 30th August, England team management must be pondering changes in their lineup. I am sure Kohli would do the usual and make atleast a change if not many changes (Who knows Prithvi Shaw or a Karun Nair or even a Jadeja plays). But what about England? 

Do they drop Alastair Cook? Jennings? Bring in Moeen Ali? Play Bairstow with a broken finger only as a batsman? Bring back Sam Curran? Play Vince instead of Bairstow?

Amongst all the changes above, the key decision is whether to play Bairstow or not? Everybody knows he is carrying a finger injury, this means they would ask him: atleast you can bat, right? Josh would take the gloves from you, dont worry. But wait!  Why play someone who is not 100% fit? I would play Vince or a Moeen Ali to throw some surprise at Team India. Vince was in good form in the last tour of New Zealand as well as recent county matches. Plus, he would be hungry to cement his place in the side for the long run given this opportunity to showcase his talent against the World No. 1 Test side, and improve upon his less than optimal Test batting average of 24.90. He got three fifties already, and England would do well to expect another one and maybe even better, a three digit score. Aye, James Vince must be itching to have a go. 

Well I am a romantic and was hoping maybe Ian Bell gets a last chance at redemption. It was not to be. This is perhaps the end of the road for him. And if Cook plays the way he has, an average of less than 20 of late, then he too probably will have to make way for someone new. Hey, Vince can open as well !! He did in the limited overs internationals, I believe. But I feel he would be drafted in at No. 4. which is on expected lines. He scores most of his runs from No.3 though, including the 147 he got batting from this position the other day for Hampshire. But could he open the innings instead of Jennings? That opens up an extra slot for a batsman or allrounder. England might be able to bring in a Sam Curran (who has batted well this series) or use Buttler at 4 which is the right thing to do given his form this series; Pope at 5 and the allrounders at 6,7 and 8 between Stokes, Woakes and Hoax, nah sorry Curran / Ali. This means that even if the top order (read the Top 3) fail to put their hands up, England have a long batting line up to fall back on. Dont know the Southampton pitch, but if it is dry, Moeen could be in the frame. The key to England's better fortunes is how well the Top 3 negotiate the new ball. If they are 100-0 or 100-1, then that would mean one of the openers has done the job. This is the key. England's top 3 need (we also need more runs from the Captain, Root) to summon all their patience and grind it out. I am betting Cook might just be around the corner to a good ol' fashioned Alastair Cook classic knock !!! 

India finally played like the No. 1 Test side

So much criticism for Virat Kohli's Team India and boy did they answer their critics and naysayers. The same England side which looked invincible appeared to be completely out of sorts. What were the Indian side munching on before the 3rd Test. Dont know what wonder pill was given to Team India, a dismayed Joe Roots must be thinking. He would now need the same pill for his team before the Southampton test. The test match went so well for Team India that they ticked all the boxes all at once. The openers contributed, saw the new ball off on Day 1, which was crucial; Rishabh Pant looked like he belongs to this level of Test Cricket in difficult trying conditions not just as a batsman but also against a swinging ball behind the stumps (he took some terrific catches especially the one which he took above his head while going away from the balls' direction), Hardik Pandya bowled and batted and fielded like a worldclass allrounder and showed what potential he has; Ishant Sharma got the nicks for a change...at times he has bowled well even in past overseas tours with not many wickets to showcase and impress...India did not miss Bhuvi, and Bumrah whilst being rusty in the beginning finished the match like a matchwinner! The whole test match was peppered with impact full performances, and barring Buttler and Stokes, England didnt have too many instances of the same.

In fact, England seem to have completely forgotten to derive inspiration and confidence from the first two test matches. A lot of wounds would have healed in the hearts of Indian fans. Team India will sleep well for the next few days, while Joe Root needs to now decide whom to pick and whom to drop. Would love to see some new faces. If they drop Cook, which would not be prudent, then suddenly they would need to seek replacement for atleast 3 slots: the two openers and Jonny Bairtstow's position in the middle order. (He fractured his finger during the 3rd Test on Day 3). There is also a murmuring in some corners for a test recall for Ian Bell (maybe he fits the bill for Bairstow's slot). If he is fit and in form, then we may see him walking straight back into the XI. 

Sam Curran did not do a thing wrong, and should be back as well. But the real worry lies in the batting unit, and if England are to win the next two, runs from Joe Root and Alastair Cook is a must. The top 3 need to contribute. Buttler should bat higher and I see him emerging as a top class batsman for England. 

Over to the next one !! 

Can we take a punt on Pant?

Before the third test at Trent Bridge, the dominating debate has been the method which Team India would adopt in countering the English, and the primary suggestions from all quarters have been to make changes to the seemingly floundering middle order. But, is that the main problem in the batting department, I beg to disagree (read my previous post). Changes are good, and Virat Kohli has tinkered with his Playing XI everytime he has walked out for a toss for a Test Match. Never in his last 38 matches as Captain has he retained his side, and chances are, may not do so going by the results in the last two matches. So who does he bring in? Is he going to take a punt on Rishabh Pant? Er..that rhymes...might turn out good eventually. England might be ill prepared for a Rishabh Pant. He might be useful, a la Dhoni in an aggressive avatar. We have missed Dhoni's service in the longest format and perhaps Pant was the logical successor after all !

Rishabh Pant has had a superlative IPL just months ago, and has struck form in the domestic circuit whenever has been able to have a go. Being a left handed batsman adds a new dimension to the middle order. Pant has a first class average of a little in excess of 54 with a strike rate of 95.24. So he is aggressive, and perhaps the perfect foil for Team India's tail. Age is also on his side, so he could be a long term option. The other options in Saha, Parthiv and Karthik are all moving towards the wrong side of 30s. The only thing that perhaps goes against him is the lack of experience! Is he ready? What if he fails? Well, as they say, if he is good enough to be in the side, why not the playing XI? I even recommend him to be picked ahead of Hardik Pandya. Pick an extra batsman in Karun Nair or retain Karthik and plant Pant at 7. Plant Pant...eh...that rhymes somewhat again !! England would be wary of Pant's aggressive overtones, and perhaps that might help the other batsmen and the team as a whole. I have not seen his wicketkeeping in this format, and even if he is a work in progress, so be it. Remember Dhoni in his early days? Those days he had more followers of his hairstyle than his keeping. Ofcourse, MSD is MSD. Wish he was still in the side to nurture a young keeper.

It would be wonderful if Rishabh Pant can replicate his first class numbers in the Trent Bridge test. He could be the answer to the perennial search for Dhoni's long term successor in the Test XI. 

Where are the Openers ?? What next..

Its been a while I took to blogging something on cricket, and well its been a while India lost a Test match so badly that people and fans alike are raising eyebrows and dabbling with solutions. After all, for a Cricket crazy nation like India, everyone seems to have a solution. 

India missed a trick by not taking a rookie opener on the English tour. I see a lack of planning here. I know that before the tour Murali Vijay was the automatic choice for the first opener slot. But he is not getting younger. He is 34. Dilip Vengsarkar retired at that age !! Now, I am not saying Vijay should think of retirement..he has been our bulwark at the top for a while now. People like him and Pujara are a necessity in the test side, where the idea in overseas conditions is to survive and allow the strokeplaying batsmen to take the game away from the opposition when the bowlers are seemingly tired. They are like Insurance Policies..It is precisely this reason Sachin Tendulkar was always shielded at No 4 or No 5, and strokemakers Ganguly and Laxman batted at 5 or 6, behind a Rahul THE WIDE WALL Dravid. The problem is not the middle order where i guess there would be some changes in a Pant or Nair. We ought to have taken an understudy to Vijay to the English tour. Perhaps a Prithvi Shaw or a Mayank Agarwal or even domestic run machines like Priyank Panchal or Faiz Fazal. Maybe a keen eye for talent would have also proposed a Abhimanyu Ranganathanparmashwaran Easwaran, A Easwaran in short. I am not such a big fan of technique in English conditions, yes it is important, but I guess it requires more grit to survive. The idea of a Dhawan and Vijay combination was ticking all the boxes: Left - Right combination, Dhawan could attack and Vijay could defend for long hours. But Dhawan perhaps started defending too much and Vijay was perhaps asked to play more balls. I guess, Vijay's success in the past hinged on how well he left rather on how well he played. He is fishing more now, showing more intent on scoring, and look at his scores now. Its a paradox. The most naive suggestion I could give Vijay today is to watch the ball and leave or let it go.  There is a hungry Kohli waiting in the pavilion to make up for the lost time (i hope he is fit for the Trent Bridge Test, and decides to play)

So well you might ask, what is the solution then? The worst solution could be to shove Pujara at the top, or drop Vijay. The best solution could be to ask the Top 3 to shoulder more responsibility, and perhaps an absent Kohli due to injury might just have this side effect, that is if Kohli decides to rest himself  at Trent Bridge (owing to a back strain). 

Contrary to media commentary, I feel the team is well oiled and perhaps still left with a lot of self belief in the tank. All is not lost, bring it on...the team must be saying to themselves !! After all, India is the No. 1 Test side, and you got to have it in you to have reached there at the first place. Kohli or no Kohli, the side can still pack a mean punch. Amen !