Lack of discipline and intent returned to haunt the Indian top-order on the opening day of the deciding Test at Edgbaston on Friday.
The BCCI should also have to share some of the blame for their failure to organise proper practice games in the build-up to the rescheduled Test. The match at Leicester wasn’t a first-class fixture and India’s lack of match practice in alien conditions showed in overcast conditions as James Anderson and Matthew Potts made use of their tentative approach outside the off stump.
It was always known that England would enjoy the upper hand in home conditions having already played three Tests against New Zealand. India landed in England having been largely fed by dollops of T20 cricket.
They came a cropper against a revitalised England side basking in positive attitude following a breath of fresh air brought about by Ben Stokes’s leadership. India needed to start all over again for this Test and the preparation wasn’t satisfactory.
The absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul proved to be equally devastating. The opening pair was responsible for giving India promising starts last year. While Rohit accumulated 368 runs in four matches, Rahul made 315.
The makeshift opening pair of Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara lasted only 38 balls before the youngster decided to poke outside the off stump. It even left former head coach Ravi Shastri fuming.
“That’s unfortunate. He (Gill) is a class act. He needs to bring that discipline into his game. That’s a nothing shot and he will be disappointed with it. This is a boundary-scoring ground but you need to put value on your wicket. You have to stick there and runs will come eventually,” Shastri said while commentating on Sky Sports.
Shastri said that Gill himself would be disappointed because he had done the hard work before the dismissal.
He was leaving the ball well with England trying to make use of India’s weakness outside off. But Anderson’s ploy worked as he eventually got the breakthrough.
“Yeah, he will be mighty disappointed. When he is set, he makes runs come. Everything before this, there was intent. There was no intent here. It was just a tentative poke outside the off stump. Really a nothing shot,” Shastri added.
With not much swing on offer, Anderson relied on seam movement. He then got rid of Pujara with a classic delivery. Delivered from wide of the crease, it was angling into the batter and swung pretty late. Pujara had to play from within the crease and the nick landed in second slip’s hand.
Hanuma Vihari never provided confidence to the dressing room before departing after lunch. Potts bowled a superb line and it sowed doubts in Virat Kohli’s mind. He wasn’t sure whether to play or leave and the late decision to leave resulted in his playing on to the stumps.
With the top-four back, it looked like a disaster in the making once Shreyas Iyer fell to another Anderson plot. Brendon McCullum well aware of the KKR captain’s shortcomings against the short ball could also have played a role as Iyer failed to get away from the line.
India were looking down the barrel at 98 for five before Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja turned it around.
