England needed 405 runs to win in the fourth innings on a
track which had not become one of the toughest to survive. The track had wear
and tear, but not demons underneath to make the turning balls behave like a
spitting cobra. The English batsmen just needed to occupy the crease for a bit
more time and mix caution with composure according to the demand of the
situation.
Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed’s approach on the fourth day
was not eye-catching, but more like Michael Atherton’s defiant resistance in
the fourth innings at Johannesburg against the likes of Allan Donald and Shaun
Pollock in 1995 on a testing track. Such a ploy never ensures entertainment,
but guarantees saving Test matches.
Cook and Hameed concentrated on leaving and blocking the
ball to weather the storm, but their brief resistance was cut short at the last
moment of the fourth day. What could have been 87 for 0, turned into 87 for 2
at stumps on day 4. It was up to the rest of the batsmen to carry on the
Cook-and-Hameed style of batsmanship on the final day and ensure a draw.
But sadly, the English batters could not even manage to take
the match into the final session and ended up on the losing side quite early.
Mohammed Shami, Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and the debutante Jayant Yadav
knocked out the English batsmen within 38 overs of day 5.
The Indian bowlers bowled well, but one cannot term those as
unplayable or blame the track for such a disgraceful capitulation.
Survival on the fifth-day track
tough, but not impossible
Alastair
Cook hinted that winning the toss was a lucky one for Virat Kohli and in the
subcontinent, the flip of the coin matters a lot. But if a team wishes to win
matches, they should have a plan B to deal with the tougher matters. Alastair
Cook cannot expect to win the toss everyday and so it’s a must for him and the
team’s think tank to come out with an alternative plan which can be
effective.
England’s
batting and spin attack were a thorn in the throat in Vizag. Their batsmen, not
only let them down in the first innings, but let them down miserably in the
second as well. It seemed as if they were haunted by the ghosts of Mirpur on
both occasions and neither their middle order exhibited the right intent nor
the correct footwork or defense against spinners.
So,
before they focus fully on the third Test, it will be ideal for them to fix the
middle order and spin attack.
England’s
number four position is occupied by Ben Duckett. Duckett is a very promising
prospect and his talent was evident during the limited overs series against
Bangladesh. But in white-clothings, he failed to justify his talent, especially
against the turning ball his miseries knew no bound.
So
far, he has failed to use his feet properly and get behind the line of the ball
and thus invited strings of failures which dented his confidence. And, his
short stay at the crease only invited enough pressure to the English batting
line-up. His dismissal in the final day hinted he has lost it at the back of
the mind needs a break to sort out his shortcomings.
The
English think tank has made a smart decision to consider Jos Buttler instead of
Duckett for the third Test. He can be used as a wicketkeeper and free Jonny
Bairstow from his keeping duties and used as a middle-order batsman. Bairstow
has been fantastic with the bat throughout this year and should not be wasted
at number seven. Moreover, technically and temperamentally, Bairstow is perfect
to end England’s middle-order woes.
Bowling woes
Meanwhile,
the spinners of England have been flat at Vizag. Yes, Adil Rashid came out
better in the second innings, but in the first, he failed to pitch it up
against Virat and Pujara and bring them forward. Thankfully, Adil rediscovered
his rhythm later on, but his partner Zafar Ansari remained the same.
Ansari
simply lacks the cutting edge as a spinner. The captain of any team would love
his left-arm spinner to spin the ball away from a length , deliver the arm-ball
and use the rough as much as possible. But Ansari’s nag to pitch it short more
often made Cook suffer. When a spinner delivers short and half volleys too
much, it gets tough for the captain to maintain the pressure.
If
the English think tank sticks to the plan of playing three spinners, it will be
ideal to invest faith in Gareth Batty instead of Ansari. He is neither a Graeme
Swann or Monty Panesar, but has the experience which can be productive for
England.
Above
all, England must realise that their main strength is the pace bowlers and it
is always sensible enough to script a game plan around your strength.
England
are still not sure whether Stuart Broad will feature in the third Test or not,
but the fast bowler has not given up yet. The England seamer revealed that he
will wear a protective "moon" boot to try and help his recovery, with
four days between the second and third Test.
Broad
sustained the injury diving in the field in the opening moments of the match,
but still produced an impressive performance with the ball.
If
Stuart Broad is fit and features at Mohali, England should include Chris Woakes
who was rested at Vizag due to a niggle and “normal wear and tear of bowling”
according to Cook. Woakes’ aggression gives England’s bowling attack the
pressure-building opportunity which was wasted by Ansari’s flat bowling.
Moreover, Woakes is a very good batsman as well.
England
can utilise Moeen and Rashid as spinners and rely more on the pace bowling
prowess of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes.
Note: This article has been
published at Sportskeeda on 23/11/2016 England need to fix middle-order and bowling woes ahead of Mohali Test
Thank
You
Faisal
Caesar
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