[pratyush6]

Got up to find the expected result really. No matter how much we hope, a Test win in England isn't coming with the batsman we have.
Have talked about Rahane before, but we really do not have much of an alternative right now. Dhawan and Pandya will surely go. Maybe Pujara to open but that still leaves the loose Rahul at 3. Karthik actually looked good but I fear he will get the axe while the stars like Dhawan and Rahul keep getting chances.
Disgusted with this loss. I hope our flat track bullies will take a hard look at themselves.

[PPS]

Sanjay Manjrekar's tweet pretty much sums up the test match perfectly for me.

When it’s a contest between a team and an individual the team generally wins. #INDvENG

Btw, how bad was Harbhajan in the commentary box, a complete misfit there. Surprised why Sky hired him!

[srikanthns]

Originally Posted by Oxy

3. Dhawan's drop catch of Sam Curran basically proved to be the difference in the end. And he was giggling like a girl after dropping the catch. He needs to be kicked out for this attitude alone.

Was just boiling after seeing this. We keep batsmen (openers) traditionally in slips , like gavaskar, visvanath of yore, only for their quick reflexes in slip catching. What the butterfingers was doing there? And his attitude both while batting and fielding is atrocious to say the least. But sad thing is we will see DK getting the boot and dhawan retained next match!

[vibbs]

I think Pujara will be brought in the next test match. But who sits out?

From 2016 onwards, Dhawan has had 8 innings away from home (not considering Sri Lanka) and his highest score in these 8 instances is 84 runs he scored in The West Indies. In the remaining 7 innings he has not been able to cross 30 runs even once.

In the same period, Rahul has 9 innings with a highest score of 158 in West Indies. Again considering only away matches except in Sri Lanka. In the remaining 8 innings he has scored one 50 (in West Indies) and no other score of over 30 runs.

Murali Vijay also has 9 innings during this time. Not even a single score over 50. Highest being 46, rest all below 30.

Rahane has 8 innings. Highest being 108 in West Indies. He has another 78 in West Indies and then of course the most challenging 46 runs during that innings in South Africa.

And what has Pujara done during this time?

Played 8 innings, one half century (in South Africa) and another innings of 46 runs in West Indies.

So whome do you play and whome do you leave. I personally believe it's time for India to look beyond the current crop. None other than Kohli being able to assert themselves in all conditions. Rahane being the biggest dissapointment due to the injustice his scores are to his skill and talent!
The next pitch at Lord's is not going to be a Turner. So no need to consider one more spinner.
The four specialist bowlers can very well take care of taking 20 wickets if the conditions are going to be similar to last test.

So I think we should take Pandya out and get one batsman in. Does any of the batsmen in the bench have decent record in England probably as a part of A tour before? If yes get him in and get Pujara instead of one of the top 3.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by vibbs

So whom do you play and whome do you leave. I personally believe it's time for India to look beyond the current crop.

The Captain has no choice but to persist with the same bunch. There's only Pujara & Karun Nair in the squad.

The next pitch at Lord's is not going to be a Turner. The four specialist bowlers can very well take care of taking 20 wickets if the conditions are going to be similar to last test.

Going by the ODI pitch at Lords it will be a slow pitch. But this red Duke's ball does a lot in England.

Does any of the batsmen in the bench have decent record in England probably as a part of A tour before?

Its too much to expect someone from the 'A' team to do well against the likes of Anderson who is a modern day McGrath. Our batsman need to show better application. The team management should give them 3-4 more games & then if they don't perform get rid of them for the Australian tour.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by PPS

Its too much to expect someone from the 'A' team to do well against the likes of Anderson who is a modern day McGrath. Our batsman need to show better application. The team management should give them 3-4 more games & then if they don't perform get rid of them for the Australian tour.

No no I didn't mean someone who is not on the team. What I meant is if we have someone in this squad who has done well in such conditions even if for 'A' team. Did not realise that it's only Karun Nair and Pujara we have as specialist batsmen.

Well in that case I guess we should probably bring in Nair as well in place of Pandya. I am not sure if he can contribute much with the ball here and not in favor of having him purely as a batsman.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by vibbs

So whome do you play and whome do you leave. I personally believe it's time for India to look beyond the current crop. None other than Kohli being able to assert themselves in all conditions. Rahane being the biggest dissapointment due to the injustice his scores are to his skill and talent!
The next pitch at Lord's is not going to be a Turner. So no need to consider one more spinner.
The four specialist bowlers can very well take care of taking 20 wickets if the conditions are going to be similar to last test.

So I think we should take Pandya out and get one batsman in. Does any of the batsmen in the bench have decent record in England probably as a part of A tour before? If yes get him in and get Pujara instead of one of the top 3.

Your post is damning indication of poor state of the batsman we have. Kohli with this performance has corrected the ghosts of 2014.

The time has come to search for batters who can perform in all conditions. Rahul can be given a long rope at 3 because its his first tour and match in England. Time for Karun to get in and Pant to debut as a batsman.

Dropping Hardik is unfair. He had more runs in SA and in the first match than Dhawan, Pujara, Rahul,Vijay and Rohit Sharma. Can also bowl a few overs too.

The difference between 2018 and the previous tours is the bowling which struggled to take 20 wickets. The current bunch had already proved their worth by picking up all 60 wickets in SA . In the absence of spearheads Bhuvi and Bumrah, the bench has shown its no slouch either.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by freedom

Surely we have a better bowler than Ishant Sharma !!

Ishant Sharma took 5 wickets in 2nd innings. Kudos to him for proving me wrong.
That means all his non performance for the past year will be forgotten. He will get selected for 2nd test which means someone better will have to sit out.

This tour of England is in the 2nd half of the summer. Add to that the summer has been particularly hot this year. Pitches are no where close to the green tops of the past.

English batsmen couldn't read Kuldeep Yadav in ODIs. I am baffled why he is not in the team to accompany Ashwin. Why this fetish to play with 3 fast bowlers when they are not the "best" bowlers in the side.

If Pandya is an all rounder he needs to do the job of a 3rd seamer. We can't have an all rounder who doesn't bowl!!
Pandya was playing well in the 2nd innings. But he and Ishant Sharma made a silly mistake to pick 2 runs when Sharma was batting and expose Sharma again for rest of the over.

For the 2nd test, if India keep the side unchanged I would like to see changes to the batting order.

2 out of Vijay, Dhawan, Rahul should bat lower. Ashwin and Kartik have shown better technique and should move up the order. Let some egos get bruised it will help the team.

[jbpanda]

Kuldeep Yadav should be given an opportunity of proving his mettle in Test. I am sure with his ODI form, the English players will have a tough time reading him and the chances of taking 20 wickets in lesser sessions would substantially increase. As regards Batsmen, there has to be much more application, perseverance and patience rather than haste in playing too many shots.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by vibbs

So whome do you play and whome do you leave. I personally believe it's time for India to look beyond the current crop. None other than Kohli being able to assert themselves in all conditions. Rahane being the biggest dissapointment due to the injustice his scores are to his skill and talent!
The next pitch at Lord's is not going to be a Turner. So no need to consider one more spinner.
The four specialist bowlers can very well take care of taking 20 wickets if the conditions are going to be similar to last test.

So I think we should take Pandya out and get one batsman in. Does any of the batsmen in the bench have decent record in England probably as a part of A tour before? If yes get him in and get Pujara instead of one of the top 3.

Sums up the situation perfectly.
I still think Vijay is a solid opener, I am not worried about him. But, Dhawan, Pujara, Rahane and the yet not entirely tested Rahul are just not good enough as a group in these conditions. I'd suggest wiping the slate clean and start with fresh set of batters. Or maybe this is the last opportunity all of these get as a group.
When it comes; we perfectly choose specialists like Ashwin & Jadeja for Tests, why not the same for batsmen? Dhawan is a proven failure, Pujara too. Rahane , despite all the glowing reviews seems to have issues beyond technique really - why do I always see a lack of confidence?

I'd choose players like Shreyas Iyer & Karun Nair for sure in the team, give them a long run and see the results.

[selfdrive]

A few batsmen on the other side too havent covered themselves in glory. Cook and Malan being the obvious figures. In the first innings, Root and Bairstow played well. But Curran was the difference. He played with a refreshing air, which is needed for our side too. I think it is time to remove from tests the cluttered minds of Dhawan, Pujara and Rahane gradually. Other batsmen like Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant need to be brought in.

Expressing oneself does not mean trying to hit every other ball. Dravid taught us long ago that intent also means leaving the ball while Sehwag showed intent in hitting it. We cannot expect to have a similar combination if this is not the natural game for those players. Shastri and Kohli seem to have confused some players like Pujara and Rahane, who have given up on their natural game just to be seen as having intent in the Pandya/ Dhawan mould. When it clicks, it will come off beautifully and win us the odd match. However, to win series outside the subcontinent the other type of intent is also necessary. To wear down bowlers and bring them in for their third/ fourth spells.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Ah, I see it now

Thats right. I meant Kohli would have got 149 + 51 in 1st innings for his shots, if the batsman at the other end was a batsman in form.

Originally Posted by WindRide

This is what happens when you go into a test match with just one decent batsman in the team.

That's true. Except for Kohli, none of the other batsmen are sure where the ball is after it leaves the bowler's hand. To paraphrase Boycott, they are like "rabbit caught in the headlights".

While Kohli has been good to Indian cricket batting, his influence has been bad on other batsmen in the team. What works for Kohli doesn't work for the rest of batmen. Last year, it was captain's wedding season and after myriad ceremonies in different cities, the team landed in South Africa and got thrashed. This year, after the ODI series, the team took a break for a week and went to Europe trip !! Surely, they could have found some other time.

Gavaskar has this piece - 'India should have played more warm-up games in England'.

“Kohli can take 50 days off and then come back and score a hundred next day. He is an exceptional talent and if he takes time off, no issues. But the team management need to understand that others need practice."

Video link: https://www.indiatoday.in/video/spor...d/MTMwNTk3OQ==

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Expressing oneself does not mean trying to hit every other ball.

Oh c'mon , expressing oneself is the millennial cricketer's term for getting on the field to play

[Eddy]

We've been put in to bat

Pujara is in for Dhawan and one Yadav replaces the other.

[hemanth.anand]

Pujara for Dhawan-Good
K yadav for U Yadav-Good
Pandya-I still don't get it.
Anyway, let's see what this 4-day match has in store for us

[kavensri]

now that we are playing 2 spinners, pandya's selection could be justified, epecially considering the overcast conditions. whether he does justification for his selection, that is highly debatable.

edit: one down already :(