India will head into Birmingham for the second test match on Wednesday wanting to turn things around as soon as they can. India lost the first test, which ideally should have been won by them after being in some really commanding positions in the first three innings. That loss must have hurt them and they would be itching to get back on the field.
Bumrah's Uncertainty
The Indian team management has stated it clearly multiple times that Jasprit Bumrah will be playing only 3 out of the 5 match in the series, in order to manage his workload. The leader of the Indian bowling lineup featured in the first test, therefore there are quite alot of chances that he would be rested for the 2nd test match in Birmingham.
The 31-year old pacer has been in a sensational form throughout, since the last year and even took a 5-wicket haul at Headingley in the first match of the series. Bumrah in the 2nd innings, however, looked a bit out of rhythm and wasn't able to take even a single wicket despite being the leader of the pack. As a result of which, England chased down the huge total without any difficulties.
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Fielding Woes
India's catching was nothing short of horrible in the 1st test, especially gully and point region. One of the main culprits was the centurion of the 1st inning, Yashashvi Jaiswal, who dropped 3-4 chances in England's 1st inning while standing at gully, a couple of them being quite easy. Another huge chance chance that went down was Ben Duckett's catch which was dropped by Ravindra Jadeja at point.
Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant who was the star of both the innings, also seemed to have butter-fingers as he let down a couple of chances as well. India might have won the match one sided if so many chances hadn't gone begging. In such a high stakes series, a team can't afford to be loose on the field. If India has to stand a chance of winning in the 2nd test, they have to complete those catches.
Also Read: Joe Root’s Test Record at Edgbaston vs India
Lower Order Collapses
Indian lower order suffered dreadful collapses in both the innings of the 1st test. Although they had multiple centurions in both the innings, they failed to bat the English out of the match on both the occasions. Combining both the innings, India lost their 13 wickets of the lower order and tail for just 72 runs.
Karun Nair, who was marking his return to the test side after a long wait of 8 years, looked unsettled while being on the crease and failed to impress in both the innings. Meanwhile Ravindra Jadeja was stranded to bat with the no. 11 both times and thus, couldn't contribute much either. Shardul Thakur also disappionted greatly as he was picked for his all-round abilities but looked out of touch.
There was no contribution from the tailenders as well and it won't be wrong to say that it was India who was supposed to seal the game. They got numerous chances and looked to be well ahead in the game but it was not to be.
Edgbaston Gears Up
While England have already announced an unchanged playing XI for the second test, India's team combination still remains a mystery. It's almost certain that we would be seeing multiple changes in the Indian team who would be looking to get back on track.
There have been reports claiming that Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar could make it into the team, with Shardul sitting out. If Bumrah is rested as well, we'll definitely be seeing either Akash Deep or Arshdeep Singh replacing him.
Individual brilliances cannot win you big matches. The sooner India realise it, the more chances they have of winning. Despite 5 historic tons and a fifer, India looked flat and out of the contest on day five in Leeds. It is high time India starts performing well as an unit- building small yet useful partnerships lower down the order, multiple bowlers stepping up and picking wickets, grabbing almost all of the catches.
It will be interesting to see who makes it into the Indian final XI and what lessons has the team learnt from its defeat.