PITCHED BATTLE
India aim for better batting show as Ashwin back in mix
London, Aug. 11: Captain Virat Kohli might have to seriously consider playing his best spinner Ravichandran Ashwin while expecting a far better show from the seasoned batting line-up when India meet England in the second Test at the Lord’s starting Thursday.
While India were in a better position to win the first Test before heavens opened up on the final day, the first innings score of 278 was still below par as none among Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane (horrible mix-up) scored runs.
Not to forget that all three haven’t scored heavily in the past two years and save Rahane, who got a hundred in Melbourne, the other two batting mainstays haven’t been able to convert a lot of their half-centuries into three-figure mark.
As far as team combination is concerned, Shardul Thakur’s hamstring injury
does again tilt the lowerorder batting balance although he didn’t trouble the scorers in the only innings that he played.
Ashwin, who was dropped from the playing XI in the
drawn opening game in Nottingham because of Jadeja’s superior skills with the willow, is back in the mix as Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at the Lord’s on Monday.
With Thakur being all but ruled out of the upcoming match, Kohli might have to revisit his 4-1 bowling combination which can’t be cast in stone considering the lean nature of his team’s lower-order batting.
The poor quality of England Test players was exposed again as skipper Joe Root had to come to his team’s rescue with a fifty in the first innings and possibly a match-saving 21st Test hundred in the second essay. There is every possibility that Rory Burns could be replaced by Haseeb Hameed, who scored a hundred opening the innings for the Combined Counties against Indians in the tour game last month.
For Kohli, if four pacers are non-negotiable, then one among Ishant Sharma or Umesh Yadav will be straightaway replacing Thakur but the choice might not be that easy.
Meanwhile, England fast bowler Stuart Broad will miss the remainder of the series with a torn right calf, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Wednesday. —