Over the years, swing and seam have proven to be India’s bugbears on tours of England. In the last decade-and-half, the duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, with the support act of Sam Curran and Chris Woakes, had left Indian batters on the mat. In a couple of days’ time, the Shubman Gill-led team will be up against Ben Stokes’ England at Headingley in Leeds. England don’t have Broad or Anderson in their ranks anymore, but the wily Chris Woakes is still around, and in Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue, they have an attack that, in home conditions, will be lethal enough to trouble the inexperienced Indian batting line-up.TimesofIndia.com examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian team ahead of the first Test.
Magical Bumrah
Former England pacer Stuart Broad, in his podcast For the Love of Cricket, mentioned how the fitness of the world’s best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, could decide the series’ fate. “He is certainly someone England won’t want to play all five Tests. Because if he does, he’s going to pick up a shedload of wickets.”Broad is right. No bowler in Test history has taken 200 wickets at an average under 20. Bumrah was at his magical best in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where he picked up 32 wickets at 13.India will be banking on their prize asset to deliver again.
Who steps up if no Bumrah?
India’s over-reliance on Bumrah in Australia was quite visible. No other bowler looked like taking wickets. And with no Mohammed Shami on this trip, England will have run-scoring opportunities once they’ve seen off Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Ajit Agarkar, India’s chief selector, had made it clear that Bumrah is unlikely to play all five Tests. In that case, India’s young captain, Shubman Gill, will be banking on the likes of Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and veteran Shardul Thakur to play the perfect second fiddle.The onus will also be on Kuldeep Yadav to step up.
The last time the England “Bazballers” faced Kuldeep Yadav, they found it tough to pick his length, variations, and, to some extent, the loop. He picked 19 wickets in four Test matches on a “true wicket,” not a rank-turner, and shifted the tide towards India after they were trailing 0-1 in the five-match series. Although Kuldeep won’t have fond memories of England, where he had a forgettable experience on a green top at Lord’s in 2018, at 30, with more maturity and improved skillsets, Kuldeep can be India’s trump card.
Play the Waiting Game
The age-old manual of how to bat in England is simple: Wait. But the Indians don’t do waiting all that well — especially when the ball swings around. The swing breaks their soul, and by the time the ball starts to curve away or shape in, Indian batters start to freeze. The balance starts to go topsy-turvy, the bat follows, and they break the thumb rule of batsmanship: never play away from your body. It will be familiar territory for the Indian batters, with the trajectory of the swinging ball winking at them.
Eyes on Jaiswal and KL Rahul
In the four Tests after the WTC final loss in 2021, India did well and were leading the curtailed series 2-1 in England. The reason behind India’s success was the way openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul batted in that series. Rohit scored a match-winning 127 the last time India played at The Oval. The knock came in India’s second innings when they were trailing by 99 runs, and it was an uncharacteristic knock from Rohit, who faced 256 deliveries, spent close to five hours at the crease, and hit only six boundaries. KL Rahul, the most experienced batter in the Indian setup, would want to emulate their success alongside the red-hot Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Follow the Virat template
India’s new captain Shubman Gill’s batting record away from home has come under scrutiny. Gill averages 35 in Test cricket — that is not enough for a country with such batting depth. His vulnerability against the moving ball is also well known. Gill’s promotion to captaincy did not sit well with many former cricketers. Former India openers K. Srikkanth and Wasim Jaffer have questioned his credentials and have raised doubts about whether he is a certainty in India’s Test XI. “He has not even secured his place in India’s Test XI,” Srikkanth had told TimesofIndia.com, after Gill was announced as India’s captain.
But Gill and other young Indian batters can take a cue from Virat Kohli — the way he batted in 2018 was a perfect example of how to tackle swing and movement.Kohli had a terrible series in 2014, scoring just 134 runs in his 10 innings. But he came back to England an altogether different batter in 2018 and finished the Test series as the top run-scorer with an impressive 593-run tally, including two centuries and three fifties.
Don’t Sleep in the Cordon
Besides suicidal batting tendencies, India’s cricketers have been afflicted with ‘butter fingers’, dropping easy catches. The ‘butter-fingered’ slip cordon has cost India several Test matches in England.Slip catching is not easy in England. The sightscreens are not that big, so you don’t get a clear background. The Dukes ball swings a lot as well — keepers face a lot of issues once the ball crosses the stumps. The same problem applies to slip fielders. The ball can swing after taking the edge as well. So catching practice is going to be very crucial. They are coming off the IPL, where one hardly does slip catches. But in England, slip catching becomes key. And then, making sure the slip cordon is very sure — who is going to be at first, second, third, and fourth slip.
