England has not been a happy hunting ground for India in recent times.
The 2011 series was a straight shoot out for the 2 teams to claim the number 1 spot in the Test rankings. With England having a settled and experienced side up against an Indian team that contained players such as the great Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, the 4 match series looked like it would be a close and highly contested affair. However, England ultimately bullied an Indian bowling attack who unlucky lost the brilliant Zaheer Khan to injury during the first Test and whose batsman with the exception of Dravid never came to terms with the English conditions. England ran out convincing 4-0 winners and became for a short period the number 1 team in the world.
The 2014 series saw several of the current England team either make their debuts (Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler) or begin to become more established players in the set-up (Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes). Equally for many of the current India side, it was their first tour of England. India started the series well and were 1-0 up after 2 Tests but familiar failings against the swinging ball saw England win the final 3 Tests to clinch the series 3-1.
Many of those Indian batsmen are back touring England again and in the meantime have established themselves as some of the best players in world cricket. Righting the wrongs of that previous tour and establishing themselves as a team that can be as good away from home as they are in sub-continental conditions is now the priority for this India team. In my opinion, success in these 5 areas are key to India having a successful and victorious tour of England this time around.
- Tighten-up outside off-stump
It goes without saying that India have often come undone on tours of England as a result of the swinging ball and in Anderson and Broad they will come up against 2 masters of their craft who excel in favourable home conditions. However, it's also fair to say that some of the Indian batsmen in recent times haven't been willing to change their techniques or be more patient and watchful outside of off-stump.
I mentioned in a previous post that I felt India hadn't given themselves adequate time to prepare for this series and we have already seen in the 1 warm-up game that they did have against Essex that the swinging Duke ball can cause their top order batsmen problems. It is absolutely essential that the Indian top 3 provide the middle order with sufficient protection. England will be absolutely delighted if they can consistently get Virat Kohli to the crease by the 15 over mark when they know they will have a chance of getting his nemesis James Anderson up against him with a new shiny ball.
In Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, India have 2 players who you would have thought have both the technique and temperament to succeed. Vijay for his part was India's top scorer on their last tour of England so he can draw confidence from those performances. Pujara on the other hand had a poor series here 4 years ago and despite several stints in county cricket, he has generally struggled to score the kind of runs that Nottinghamshire (333 runs @ 22.75 in 2017) and Yorkshire (172 runs @14.33 in 2018) would have hoped when they signed him. A turn around in those numbers could well be just the kind of shield that Kohli needs to come in and play the match winning innings that he is capable of. Then there is the question of who will open with Vijay? Dhawan looked good throughout the white ball games but too often gave his wicket away when well set. He also got a pair in the warm-up game against Essex which won't have helped his chances. KL Rahul scored a wonderful hundred in the T20 series but was shuffled in and out of the ODI team lower down the order. Both batsmen will play the more aggressive role at the top of the order but they too must get that balance of attack and defence right and be wary of the ball around off-stump.
2. Find a fit and effective combination of seam bowlers
Traditionally producing fast bowlers has not been a strong area for India but those times now appear to be changing and there is real strength and depth in the seam bowling department.
Still, it was a bitter blow for India to have lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar for at least the first part of the series. He is the leader of the seam bowling attack and a player who has done well in England before. In fact, in the interim he has become, in my opinion, an even better bowler who has added a yard of pace to go with his skill of moving the ball through the air and off the surface.
With Jasprit Bumrah also unavailable for this first Test match, the selectors must choose between Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur. There is no shortage of talent, experience and variety in that attack but again they must adapt to the English conditions quickly and in the case of Shami (who I think could be a real handful on English pitches) prove his fitness.
It is also important that India's seamers do early damage so that when Ashwin and co. come into the attack, Kohli can set attacking fields and press home India's advantage. Again, it can be very different in the sub-continent where the spinners are generally seen as the match winners, will bowl the bulk of the overs and can even open the bowling on the first morning of a Test match. I'd suggest that even with the dry summer that we've had so far in the UK that the seamers will still need to take their fair share of the wickets as the ball will nip around a bit early on.
Getting India's quicks firing will also allow India to put an unsettled English top order under pressure. Keaton Jennings has returned to the side and played well against Pakistan but needs a couple of big scores to cement his place. Then there is the prize wicket of Joe Root who looks (much to my dismay) likely to bat at 3 again.
With this being such a gruelling 5 match series it's likely that India will need to draw on all of their fast bowling resources at some point throughout the next 6 weeks and if they can keep their options fit and in form, it would appear that India have the greater strength and depth in this department when compared to England.
3. Target England's Captain Joe Root at number 3
India's lacklustre performances in the final 2 ODIs where they seemed happy to rotate and experiment with their side have come under criticism from various commentators around the world. For me, one of the biggest mistakes was that it allowed Joe Root, England's Captain and far and away their best batsman to find the kind of touch and form that has been lacking from his game for the best part of a year. 2 centuries in 2 matches was just what Root needed to warm himself up for this series.
However, in my mind playing him at number 3 is still a big risk and could expose him early on giving India the chance to take the English wicket that they will want most dearly. The Australian's have always made a point of targeting an opposition captain and it's hardly rocket science to see why. If India can do the same it will not only cost England runs but it will also put the Captain under tremendous pressure. Wins against South Africa and West Indies have been followed by defeat against Australia and New Zealand and a draw against Pakistan. This is a must win series for Root and India must do all they can to pile the pressure on him.
4. Attack England's change bowlers
I've mentioned the danger that Anderson and Broad can pose to the Indian batsmen but they can't bowl all day. England are currently without Chris Woakes who has a good Test record in this county and who if fit would likely be England's 3rd seamer. England have played the likes of Mark Wood, Jake Ball, Craig Overton and Tom Curran in recent tests but none of these players are either fit enough or showing enough form for consideration which means that England have turned to Jamie Porter, a player who has been very successful in domestic cricket but who is yet to feature in a Test match for England. His inexperience opens the door for India to attack what may be a weak link in the side.
Furthermore, England's spin bowling options in Adil Rashid and Mooen Ali are 2 players who have done well in white ball cricket but struggled of late in Tests. I've written plenty about the selection of Rashid in previous posts and despite his recent successes, I don't think the India batsmen will fear him in this form of cricket. Moeen Ali who was dropped following a poor Ashes, seems to have regained his confidence. India though must see this as an opportunity to open up old wounds after both Moeen and Rashid were milked for easy runs the last time England played in India.
The added advantage for India if they can dominate the change bowlers is that it will force Joe Root into bringing back Anderson and Broad whose older bodies may struggle with the workload especially with the tough scheduling of these Test matches. Furthermore, it could lead to Ben Stokes being bowled more than England would perhaps like. He is an effective bowler but their remain doubts about his fitness as well.
5. Hold onto all of their chances
As with fast bowling, one of the areas that India have improved upon over recent years is their out-cricket. The IPL has had a massive bearing on that as has a more professional and disciplined coaching set-up. However, India's slip catching particularly off their seamers has been a major problem for several years.
As per, my 2nd point, it is imperative that India's seamers do the business for them in order to put pressure on England's batsmen. If they are doing the right thing in pitching the ball up and inducing edges then the slips and keeper must be backing their bowlers by grabbing the chances.
England is not an easy place to keep wicket or field in the slip cordon. Very often the ball will continue to swing on it's way through and the fact that the Test playing grounds are so old means that the playing squares have often been built up over the years, leaving a slope for the ball to travel down that further confuses the situation. If India can push the figures up to around the 75% mark of catches taken in the slips then it will go a very long way to them winning the series.
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