Trent Bridge- Is that a bridge too far?

0-2 down and more importantly beaten in two playing days of a test match that could have been totally rained off; just that the English cricket had the sun on their beck and call. Indians of course obliged the hosts by playing terribly in the second innings, a total spineless performance has left them with no defence for an extreme bad luck of losing the toss and massively swinging conditions where 150 was a par score for the best of the best. That innings was no different in English condition from the typical spinning wickets Poms have faced a few times in India and have been annihilated as badly as Indians were at Lords. None of the Indian batsmen barring Kohli look settled; and even he is looking vulnerable more due to his sore back. He looked set to win his much-touted contest with Anderson after mercurial innings at Edgbaston. Currently, Kohli is a wee bit ahead in that contest; 200 runs in one innings notwithstanding, Anderson was a bit unlucky not to nip out Kohli earlier, due to his slip cordon’s generosity towards the visiting captain; a rare thing for a Pom. Though, the turnaround in Kohli's game against Anderson in typical English conditions, is a clear indication of great maturity and skill level that he has reached since the disastrous last series in the Old Blighty. It is an indication of fantastic mental strength that Kohli is bestowed with. Unfortunately, the support that he needs to push the marauding English pacemen back (and Stokes has now joined the fray for Edgbaston) has been conspicuous by its absence! I won't quote the stats to highlight the plight of Indian top order; its stating obvious. What it still hides is the fact that the same set of players have conquered situations similar to this before; not often but at least one example is hard to ignore. The last test at Wanderers in South Africa where the home batsmen wanted the test match to be called off due to poor wicket saw Indian batters play with rare guts, even after losing the series to pocket a memorable victory. While a repeat of that gutsy performance may seem almost impossible at this moment, there is no doubt that this batting unit is still capable of putting up a fight. There is no doubt about the skill; it's all up in the minds. How well they have been able to switch off after the Lords test and go to Trent Bridge with a confidence in their capabilities, is a singular most important factor that will determine the fate of this series.

Batting woes alone aren’t an issue. India should have won the Edgbaston test when they had removed the English top order in the second innings very cheaply. Just that they gave a few precious runs to a lower order in both tests is an indication of either loosing the focus after early good work or the skipper’s impatience with his bowlers when a partnership develops. In both test matches Kohli has missed a few things as a captain; it is easy of course to state that in hind sight. Though his bringing in the left arm chinamen in conditions that were more suitable for was an example of impatience due to his team’s low first innings total. His misplaced confidence in Kuldeep’s mystery factor actually convinced him to fire his bullet a bit too early in the contest; forgetting the fact that he needed to take into account the bowler’s mindset. It was obvious that Kohli was making a statement by throwing ball to him earlier than Ashwin, who was literally unplayable at Edgbaston, that he DEMANDS wickets from him. That was immense pressure for the young leggie apart from trying to defend a low score. I thought, Kohli should have protected his young and critical weapon a little bit better.

It is then apparent that to win a series from here for India is almost a herculean task; in fact some may even say India will loose all 5 tests. I am not convinced about that. I still believe there is plenty of fight in this unit and there is a lot left for the Indian team to fight for; not just no. 1 raking but a lot of pride. I still believe India can and will get back at least one if not two tests. I am not sure if that one will be today’s crucial game or not.

My reasons? I think English batting is still unsettled. Indian bowlers have given them a rare hard couple of games so far; just that there is insufficient fire power as Umesh was a bit disappointing in the first test and Hardik Pandya is looking half decent test allrounder. He is capable bowler but still needs more experience of how to bowl in English conditions. That leaves the burden only on two pacers and Ashwin. If Bumrah can join for today’s test, he will make a difference. Him, Shami and Ishant will be handful at Trent Bridge, if India get an opportunity to bowl first.

Indian batting is one good outing away. If they come close to 300 once the confidence will be back. I would like to see Dhawan back may be for Vijay. And Karthik has looked pedestrian. This is a good opportunity to bleed the youngster, Rishabh Pant, who will have no fear of failure as the whole team has flopped and is expected to flop. He may be an x-factor that India is looking for.

My team will be: Dhawan, Rahul, Pujara, Kohli, Rehane, Pandya, Pant, Ashwin, Ishant, Shami and Bumrah. This seems like the best team to give Poms a fight and put the series back on track…let’s keep the fingers crossed!!