On a deteriorating fifth day pitch at Vishakhapatnam, it was just a matter of time before England collapsed. As expected, that was exactly how things panned out as India, under the ever astute leadership of Virat Kohli, completed England’s annihilation by a margin of 246 runs. Jonny Bairstow resisted as much as he could while others around him did the wicket-keeper no favors by playing some poor shots. England batsmen had no answers to the accuracy of the Indian bowlers.
Going into the third Test at Mohali from November 26, plenty of questions loom for the visitors. Ben Duckett, who has been termed as the next big thing in English cricketing circles, has been a fish out of water here in India. His stay at the wicket has been a painful sight for all viewers as he has hopped to the tunes of Ravichandran Ashwin. His feet movement is absolutely nil and expecting him to even last for a session in these conditions would be quite unrealistic. Surely, there is the backup in form of Jos Buttler and Gary Ballance, but will they do well against the Indian spinners who have just found their groove?
With three Tests to go, all at reputed Test centers of Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai, the hosts are yet to name their squad for the remaining games. After a near perfect second game, one can expect the side to be more or less the same. After such a sensational year for India, where they are yet to lose a Test, chopping the side even by a bit makes no sense.
The only department where the Indian think tank will be under pressure is the opening department. As many as five opening combinations have been tried by India in eight completed Tests since the West Indies tour and they are still to find the right pair for opening the innings. Murali Vijay was solid at Rajkot but his returns at Vizag, where he was undone by James Anderson and Stuart Broad, were underwhelming. This has been a constant feature with the elegant right-hander, as often a big knock has been followed with an array of low scores.
Rahul, who was drafted midway, looked a tad rusty as he played a poor shot in the first innings. The Karnataka star needs to find a way of curbing his instincts and stop poking at anything outside the off stump. However, one can still expect the duo to open at Mohali in the third Test.
As far as the reserve opener is concerned, there are as many as three genuine candidates in the fray. After Gautam Gambhir disappointed at Rajkot, he was released to play in the Ranji Trophy. Accompanying Gambhir will be his Delhi teammate Shikhar Dhawan, who returns from a thumb injury. Most likely, there will be a tossup between the two and after accounting for Dhawan’s age and presence with the Test side since the last few years, he’ll easily get the nod ahead of Gambhir, if he manages to impress in the Ranji Trophy fixture.
There can be a case where Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund is drafted in the squad ahead of the duo if he manages his run making spree in the domestic circuit. Ignoring Mukund’s tally of runs off late wouldn’t be ideal either.
From the bowling front, things look steady as the pacers have impressed in every outing. Shami’s accuracy has been the answer to India’s woes of breaking a partnership. Umesh Yadav, on the other hand, has been unfortunate for not getting enough wickets despite bowling his heart out and troubling the English batsmen.
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bagged a five wicket haul at Kolkata against New Zealand in his last Test could be back in the squad, provided he proves his match fitness. In the northern terrain of India, Kumar’s swing early on would be vital.
The only other change would be Jayant Yadav replacing fellow Haryana spinner Amit Mishra. Mishra was also released to play in the Ranji Trophy beside Gautam Gambhir. After such a pleasing debut, where he got runs as well as took wickets, Yadav is bound to play the remaining games, thereby Mishra could potentially be dropped from the squad.
Predicted Squad:
Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Karun Nair, Amit Mishra, Abhinav Mukund