A team isn’t usually subjected to much scrutiny, especially after having annihilated its opposition by a 434-run margin in a Test.
For Team India, it has been a case of a depleted side smashing an almost full-strength England for a come-from-behind 2-1 lead in the ongoing five-match series. That only reflects the kind of impact the youngsters and the reserves have had, making sure the absence of the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul wasn’t felt.
Most of the boxes were ticked in the just-concluded Test here, braving a poor start on the first morning when India were wobbling at 33/3. The bowling attack, even without Ravichandran Ashwin on the crucial third day of the game, rose to the occasion and kept things tight before England batters made gross, unforced errors to hand over the advantage to the Indians.
To ensure the series is wrapped up and the door shut on England in the fourth Test itself, young guns Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan and even keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel — who scored 46 and featured in a critical 77-run eighth-wicket stand with Ashwin — need to come up with good follow-up performances. At the same time though, India need to look into the No.4 slot of their batting order, which appears to be the only area that has to be sorted.
If KL Rahul is fully fit and has recovered from the quadriceps strain which had ruled him out of the last two Tests, he’s expected to walk into the XI and lend a little more experience to India’s batting. “KL has made good progress over the last few days, so his chances of being there for the fourth Test in Ranchi do look brighter,” a source at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore told The Telegraph on Monday.
That said, there’s no 100 per cent confirmation yet over Rahul’s availability in the Ranchi Test beginning on Friday.
In case, Rahul doesn’t make the cut, do India continue with Rajat Patidar, who aggregates only 46 runs from his four innings across the second and third Tests? To be fair to Patidar, who made his Test debut in Visakhapatnam after scores of 111 and 151 for India ‘A’ against England Lions, his dismissal in the first innings of the second Test was certainly unfortunate.
The ball had rolled back onto the stumps after he blocked it with the front foot. But thereafter, he played extremely poor shots in his next three innings, making no use of the opportunities coming his way.
India do have Devdutt Padikkal at their disposal. The left-hander, following a solid Ranji Trophy season for Karnataka, joined the squad ahead of the third Test and has had his share of net practice as well with the India coaching staff.
Unless the BCCI confirms Rahul’s return for the next Test, a tricky call awaits the team management in terms of the No.4 slot.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah, whose seven-over spell on the third morning of the third Test was equally crucial in triggering England’s first-innings collapse, could be rested in Ranchi given his workload.
“After this Test series, there’s the IPL and thereafter, the T20 World Cup begins within a week. So, it’s quite fair to give him some rest, particularly to avoid breakdown ahead of a World Cup,” a BCCI insider said.
Mukesh Kumar, who featured in Bengal’s Ranji game against Bihar which got over on Sunday, will be rejoining the squad in Ranchi. The Bengal pacer is likely to partner Mohammed Siraj with the new ball in the coming Test, though his statemate Akash Deep too has bowled at the Niranjan Shah Stadium nets for quite some time under the supervision of bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
