Slip catching letting India down
It started as an England vs India game but turned out to be an England vs Kohli one. On the first day, it was the run-out of Joe Root that triggered the English collapse, on the second, it was Kohli’s knock that kept India in the hunt and on the third day, once again it was Kohli’s unbeaten 43 that kept the hopes alive.
Kohli failed on the fourth morning and with him the Indian resistance ended too. Kohli has not only ended the debate about his effectiveness in English conditions but has also proved that he’s the best batsman in the world across three formats. But it’ll need a lot more than him for India to make a comeback in the Test series.
BOWLERS DELIVERED, ONCE AGAIN
While the limelight, and quite rightly, stayed on Kohli, it must not be forgotten that Indian bowlers took 20 wickets once again. They had dismissed South Africa twice in all three Test matches earlier this year. However, just like it happened in South Africa, it was the Indian batting that let them down here.
In the absence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah, Ishant and Shami stood up.
Ishant’s five-wicket haul in the second innings was one of his finest Test bowling performances. I rate this effort ahead of the seven wickets he took at Lord’s in 2014.
Ashwin’s contribution is another huge positive from the Edgbaston Test, for like Kohli, his effectiveness or the lack of it in English conditions was scrutinised threadbare. He broke the back of England batting twice in two innings.
MISSED CHANCES
This Test match showed that imperfections can also lead to a perfect spectacle. It was Root’s needless call for a non-existing second run that brought India back in the game, it were the dropped catches of Kohli and Pandya that kept India in the hunt and it were the dropped catches of Curran and Rashid that gave England a fighting chance.
Both teams dropped catches but, unfortunately, India ended up dropping the most crucial catch — of Curran — that sealed the fate of the game. Indian slip catching has been an area of grave concern for the longest time. India’s slip catching conversion since 2015 is second from bottom in the list of all Test teams.
While it’s impossible to change this overnight, India will have to somehow improve significantly to compete throughout the series.
BATTING MINUS KOHLI
Kohli scored 149 and 51 in two innings but none of the other Indian batsmen could get to even 40. Rahane and Vijay, India’s blue chip stocks in overseas conditions, failed.
Rahane’s last 12 Test innings have produced an average of a little over 12 runs per innings. Vijay’s overseas returns in the last four Tests aren’t that impressive either.
Incidentally, both Rahane and Vijay were instrumental in India winning the Test when India last played at Lord’s and India will be hoping they repeat their heroics. The bigger concern is the lack of runs from Dhawan and Rahul, for one of them played at the cost of Cheteshwar Pujara.
Now that they were preferred over him in the first Test, they should be persisted with for the second Test too. But both shall realise that their place in the XI is hanging by a thread. BIRMINGHAM: When Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan added 50 in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test, it was India’s first half-century opening partnership for 18 innings in England.
India’s push for excellence has helped find depth in pace and spin, with bowlers delivering 20 wickets in each of the last four high-profile overseas Tests.
But results in those four Tests stand at 1-3, evidence of India’s batting travails despite skipper Virat Kohli’s grand run. Top-order batsmen have struggled on lively pitches against pace, and constant chopping has hurt the team. Cheteshwar Pujara has gone in and out of the team, and it is clear KL Rahul is not relishing any slot other than opener.
The 26–year-old was a picture of confidence after making a century in his second Test in Sydney on the 2014-15 Australia tour. That came after being asked to open, having batted at No 6 and 3 on debut in Melbourne and failed.
In Edgbaston, at No 3 in place of Pujara, he made four and 13. Rahul’s stats show he is best as opener, and much like No 3 batsmen hate to open, it can work the other way for openers. Rahul has opened in 11 away Tests - the Port of Spain game was all but washed out in 2016 - and the numbers tell a story. The scores -- 110&16; 7&5, 108&2; 2&2; 158; 50&28; 57; 85; 10&4; 0 -- show he is best as opener.
If India management is thinking of a succession plan for the demanding openers’ slots and see Rahul as the best bet, they will have to find out if he is in the right mental space when not opening.
Shikhar Dhawan’s poor technique against swing negates the left-right ploy. In Edgbaston, twice he walked into his shot unsure, to be caught at slip and by keeper. Poor footwork can expose him in Australia too at the yearend. Murali Vijay’s temperament and technique, and centuries in Australia, England and South Africa, set him apart. But at 34, and after a few injuries, his reflexes aren’t that sharp.
Rahul’s four-year Test career is in two parts. The first phase ran until his brilliant show against Australia at home last year, braving a shoulder injury. The second, post surgery and since he was not immediately restored as opener and failed in the ODI middle-order on the 2017 Sri Lanka tour, has seen a dip in confidence.
In South Africa in January, India started with Shikhar, and only when he failed in Cape Town did Rahul come in. But he failed, and thus a long run in England can help.