India gear up for England pace test
FIRST TEST Onus on skipper Kohli to help visitors reverse the failures during the 2011 and 2014 tours
poor returns in 2014 remain the focus of all attention.
He top-scored with 153 in Centurion during the 1-2 series loss, and hit a vital fifty as India pulled off a consolation win on an unplayable Johannesburg pitch. England though will be tricky as James Anderson’s mastery over swing and Stuart Broad’s seamers will test batsmen’s ability to counter lateral movement.
Opener Murali Vijay’s patience to weather the challenge of the new ball and the confidence he draws from his success on the previous tour will be vital.
Kohli will be the target for England pacers though with rain at the weekend and a freshened-up pitch boosting them.
India will have their task cut out at Edgbaston, where they have lost five of their six Tests with one drawn.
The India skipper got vital redball preparation when he saw off early life on the Chelmsford pitch to hit a fifty in the three-day practice game against Essex. But he still needs to emulate idol Sachin Tendulkar’s self-denial.
The 29-year-old has all the shots in the book, but has a tendency to reach out to deliveries outside the off-stump early on. At the nets on Monday, he was drawn quite a few times into deliveries that shaped away. Anderson and Broad will look to exploit that weakness, and also bring one in to trap him.
If Kohli is seeking that discipline, he only needs to look at Tendulkar’s famous 241 not out at Sydney on the 2003-4 tour when he cut out the cover drive to deny the Aussie bowlers.
England will hope Alastair Cook’s experience and skipper Joe Root’s class will help paper over their batting issues, particularly the constant change in opening partners for former skipper Cook. Root has struggled to convert Test half-centuries into big knocks, but showed with back-toback centuries in the ODI series win that he may be ready to change.