Are These Moves the Right Fix for India’s Second Test Hopes?
Team India did not get a good start to the England series, losing the first Test match by 5 wickets. It was also a poor start for the new captain, Shubman Gill, who now aims for a comeback in the 2nd match. But there might be a few changes which could make the team prepared for the English challenges.
Following the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Test format, Shubman Gill was newly announced as the team’s captain in the red-ball format. Being a long-term option for the team, Captain Gill thought of giving a massive win in the first Test against England.
However, things didn’t go his way, as England dominated towards the latter end of the match and secured a win. The batting line-up was able to perform well, with 5 individual centuries coming in both innings, but it was still not enough to stop the Bazball. Even after having Bumrah in the bowling line-up, India was not able to defend the score of 371.
With the reports coming that Jasprit Bumrah won’t be available in the second match, the challenges for the new Captain grow even more. However, there are always some ways in which teams could dominate even in overseas matches. One of the biggest examples of the same is when India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21, under Ajinkya Rahane.
Surely the Indian team will be going through some changes for the second match, but it is not the player changes which are required. Let’s now take a look at the list of changes which the team could make in the second Test, which could prove them to be a worthy opponent to England.
Active Fielders & Attacking Mindset
One of the major reasons which cost the Indian team to lose the first Test match was the fielding errors. By evaluating his captaincy from the first Test, Shubman Gill could be looking forward to placing the most agile fielders at the crucial spots such as the slips, silly point, and much more, creating pressure on the English batsmen.
Yashasvi Jaiswal performed well with the bat, but he dropped catches several times in the slips, giving more chances to England. This also turned out to be the main turning point in the second innings of the game. Gill shall now be looking forward to placing some agile fielders in place of Jaiswal, as sharp fielding and proactive captaincy are much needed in the England Tests.
The slip position was held by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for a long time, which might make it challenging for Gill to find some agile fielders. However, the team management and selectors will surely be able to give the new captain some sharp fielders or even improve Jaiswal’s fielding skills ahead of the second match.
Another mistake made by Captain Gill in the first Test was sticking with a defensive field towards the end. When England needed less than 80 runs to win the match, Shubman Gill pushed some players to the boundary line, which further allowed them to take easy singles and secure the win within the next few overs.
Adapting an attacking field will be the team’s key to creating pressure on the English batsmen under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. Bringing in the slips, surrounding the batsmen with close-in fielders and placing catch traps will be able to help the team to take quick wickets and build early momentum. India will only be able to win the second match and level the series if Gill changes his mindset and intent from defensive to attacking.
Arshdeep’s First Test Step
After the first Test match between India and England came to an end, coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about the availability of Jasprit Bumrah. He revealed that Bumrah will only be playing three Test matches in total for the series in England. Noting the fact that he was a part of the team in the first match, he will now only be available in two of the remaining four games.
Some reports even say that Jasprit Bumrah will not be available to play for the team in the second Test at Birmingham. Citing the workload management, the star of the Indian bowling line-up is likely to miss out on the second Test but will be back for the third match.
In his place, the Indian team surely has a number of options, but the only individual who could be the best and even take wickets in the English conditions will be Arshdeep Singh. He is the only left-arm pacer in the team, and the next match against England could be the best opportunity for Shubman Gill and the team to give him a chance for a debut.
Arshdeep Singh will surely receive a lot of help with the inswing bowling conditions, especially in the initial stages of the game. He has been a crucial part of India’s line-up in the limited-overs format, but now it might be the right time for him to be a part of the Test team as well.
He has always troubled the right-handed batsmen, taking their wickets in either bowled or LBW manner. Along with that, most of the top-order batsmen of England are right-handed, which will make Arshdeep Singh the right asset for the team in the second game.
It should also be noted that Arshdeep Singh has some experience in English conditions. He played in the County Championship 2023, where he was a part of Kent. Having played 5 matches in the tournament, he took 13 wickets at an average of 41.76, and an economy of 3.36 runs per over.
Crucial Runs Down the Order
The Indian team was able to dominate with its batting, scoring 471 runs in the first innings and 364 runs in the second innings. Although the batting was impressive, the majority of runs came from the top-order batsmen. As they went on to lose the wickets, the lower order also fell quickly against the English bowlers.
| Player | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
|---|---|---|
| Shardul Thakur | 1 | 4 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 3* | 0 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 1 | 0 |
In the first innings, India stood at the score of 430 runs for the loss of 3 wickets, where 600 runs also looked easy for the team. But then came a collapse, as the team lost 7 wickets and scored 41 runs only, finishing at 471. A similar situation happened in the team’s second innings. India had a score of 333 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.
This was also a chance to give England a big target, but the team went on to lose the next 6 wickets within 31 runs. The tailenders were not able to contribute well with the bat, or even it can be said that their contribution was almost nothing with the bat. The contribution of the lower order will be crucial for India in the next match.
It can be seen that even if we combine the runs scored by the last four batsmen of the Indian team in both innings, it doesn’t reach the double-digit mark. On the other hand, the lower order of England was able to contribute well with both bat and ball, which played a crucial role in the team’s win in the first Test.
Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse both had a 50+ runs partnership for the 8th wicket, which helped England to shift the momentum to their side. Woakes was already at the crease, and Carse came in after Brook lost his wicket on 99. At this time, fans thought it would be India who heads to the next innings with a good lead, but the English lower order showcased some determination.
Top Order’s Determination
India’s top-order batsmen were able to dominate well, contributing the majority of runs scored by the team in both innings. But there has been a slight criticism received after the team’s loss, which made a few fans think that the top order could have contributed more.
Talking about this, Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel:
If I was Gautam Gambhir, I would tell Rishabh Pant that the way you batted was outstanding, it’s a blessing to have a batter like you and also request him that can we please expect a 200 next time when you’re on 130, because you know your lower order can’t contribute much.
It somehow became a challenge for the Indian team, as the top-order was well set, but they thought that the lower order would be able to give a good finish. Unfortunately, this was not able to take place in the first innings of the team, where India saw a collapse as wickets of the lower order fell consistently.
Even in the second innings, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul played well, which helped India to reach a par score. However, Pant lost his wicket while playing aggressive shots, giving his catch towards long-on. Since Pant was comfortable playing against the English bowlers, various analysts say that he could’ve played even more, as the lower order is not able to contribute.
If the lower order continues not to contribute, it must be the responsibility of the top-order batsman to play well and contribute as much as they can. This could further help the Shubman Gill-led Indian team to reach a good score, without relying much on the lower order for a better finish.
With a number of speculations coming down for the Indian team, Shubman Gill will be looking forward to learning from the mistakes in the first Test. There are a number of questions prevailing in our minds related to the squad, but it will all be known when India faces England for the second Test in Birmingham.
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