England beat India by 28 runs at the opening Test in Hyderabad, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. This outcome held weight as doubts circulated about Bazball’s performance in the uniquely Indian conditions, particularly against curveballs.
India’s strategy appeared successful. They dismissed England for less than 250 runs, thanks to spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who took three wickets apiece. It was then India’s turn at bat. They scored 436 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja’s half-centuries were significant contributors.
India had a big first-innings lead of 190 and held all of the aces in the Hyderabad Test. They even pushed England to 163/5 in the second innings before Ollie Pope’s 196 secured a comfortable advantage for the visitors. Chasing 231, India was subsequently knocked out for 202, allowing England to take the lead.
India gears up for their second Test in Visakhapatnam. This match kicks-off on February 2. Rohit Sharma’s team has three key issues to address.
#1. Form of India’s batters
The hosts are particularly concerned about the batting unit’s form. The skipper has struggled to score runs in the red ball style. In his last six Test innings, his highest score has been 39. Rohit Sharma did score runs in the West Indies, but don’t read too much into it.
Prior to then, he struck a century in Nagpur against Australia, but failed to reach a half-century in the other three Tests. Rohit also struggled in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against the same opponents at The Oval.
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer’s performance slump is a concern for the Indian team strategists. Shubman has not exceeded forty runs in his previous eleven Test games since his record 128 against Australia in Ahmedabad back in March 2023. He’s faced criticism about his technique for this format. Some analysts believe that, currently, his game doesn’t fit well with Test cricket.
Shreyas had a fantastic Test debut against New Zealand in November 2021, with a hundred and fifty. His narrative, however, is identical to Gill’s. In his last 10 Test innings, the 29-year-old has a maximum score of 35. Shreyas struggled in South Africa and was out of sorts in the first Test against England in Hyderabad.
#2. Absence of key players
The departure of veteran batsman KL Rahul and versatile all-rounder Jadeja from the second Test would weaken India’s team. The former complained of right quadriceps soreness, while the latter had a hamstring injury while playing on Day 4 in Hyderabad.
Significantly, Jadeja and Rahul scored the most runs for India in the first innings in Hyderabad. While the former scored 87 off 180 balls, the later contributed 86 off 123. Aside from opener Jaiswal, who hit 80, they were India’s two best batsmen, but he is still inexperienced at the international level.
The hosts are already missing Virat Kohli, who pulled out of the first two Tests for personal reasons. India has recruited Sarfaraz Khan to the team for the second Test, but they will be concerned about their overall batting performance, particularly their collapse against Tom Hartley in the second innings.
#3. Ineffectiveness of spinners in Hyderabad
India’s spinners did not rip through England’s batsmen in the second innings, as expected. Instead, Pope irritated them with sweeps, especially reversal sweeps.
Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar Patel hustled for their wickets. Ashwin landed three in 29 overs, Jadeja claimed two in 34, while Axar scored one in just 16. However, they did have higher economy rates, reducing their ability to place pressure on the English batters.
What will concern the Indian camp even more is that England’s debutant left-arm spinner Hartley scored seven in the second innings on the same surface where India’s top slow bowlers struggled. This essentially suggests that they would think twice about preparing a rank turner in Visakhapatnam because it may backfire given their frail batting lineup.
