India couldn’t have asked for a better start to their 2016/17 home season, with emphatic displays against New Zealand. The test series was a completely one sided affair, as the Virat Kohli led vibrant Indian unit hunted the Kiwis like a pack of hungry lions. New Zealand had their moments in the ODI series but nevertheless, they couldn’t alter the dominance put forward by India one bit.
Against the Indians now, lies a stiffer challenge, as Alastair Cook’s England has reached Mumbai. England begin their affair with India, with a five match test series, starting from the 9th November in Rajkot. The test series will be followed with an ODI and T20I series, each consisting of three matches. Despite losing to Bangladesh in the second test, England are bound to pose tough questions for the number one ranked team India.
England, remains the only team since Australia to defeat India in a test series on Indian shores since 2004. The last time England were here, things went southwards for the hosts in no time, as the ploy to prepare rank turners backfired colossally. The spin twins of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar dented India’s reputed batting lineup and that marked England’s first triumph in India since 1984. At present, they may not have any spinner even close to the class of Swann, but the hosts still need to be wary of the English lions.
Indian selectors named the squad for the first two games, and that had a few surprising elements. All rounder Hardik Pandya, who recently made his ODI debut against New Zealand, earned his maiden test call up. Injuries to first choice personnel such as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have already meant that India wouldn’t be fielding their best XI for the first two games.
Rohit Sharma has the most serious injury concern as due to a hamstring woe, the flamboyant batsman is expected to be out of action for atleast 8 weeks. To back up Sharma, Karnataka batsman Karun Nair was named. Nair though, has rarely batted in the lower middle order, and it will be interesting to see the management’s move. In case India decide to opt for 4 specialist bowlers, like they did against New Zealand, it will be a straightforward choice between Pandya and Nair.
Keeping in mind the way how India mauled New Zealand in the tests, there is no apparent weakness as such. The only possible shortcoming for the hosts, would lie in the fact that Rohit Sharma will not play any part in the series. Sharma, against New Zealand finally repaid the faith of the management, as he played three priceless knocks in each test. His half centuries were definitely the icing on the cake for India. In Sharma’s absence, there will therefore be more responsibility upon the shoulders of the top order. To add to that, M. Vijay’s recent form, where he hasn’t converted his starts is another worrying aspect.
With recent scores of 10, 19, 9, 7, Vijay has done his form no good. The elegant right hander will be watched closely against England, as failures in the first couple of tests could put his spot in danger once KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are fit and back. The middle order is India’s batting spine and after notching up daddy centuries in Indore, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane will be eager to carry on the good show against England.
The strengths of this Indian team are crystal clear as the presence of R. Ashwin itself is a massive plus. Ashwin has decimated teams with utmost ease and with England’s batting short in experience, the tall off spinner could well be on his way to a record breaking series. The individual rivalry between Ashwin and England skipper Alastair Cook, will determine the way in which the series goes about.
While India’s spin prowess revolves around the duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra’s impressive performance in the ODI series against New Zealand will make him hard to ignore. The leg spinner picked up 15 wickets in the 5 match series, and is bound to be a sure starter at Rajkot. Mishra with all his experience and variations will be used mainly in order to clean up the English tail.
As a whole, despite missing out few integral individuals, this Indian side looks full of confidence and strength. Against an England outfit, low on confidence, the Virat Kohli led brigade should have things going their way. The five match series could possibly inflict similar scars upon England, like Australia did back in 2013/14.