Southampton Calling

Pataudi series is at a very interesting stage. After comprehensive defeat in Lords test, fans of the Indian tram were not only disappointed but angry as well. They were not expecting number 1 test team in the world to capitulate so easily. Even though India lost the first test there was no anger amongst the fans since India did not lose so badly. Disappointment, definitely. However, the way in which they surrendered in the Lords test even after significant time loss due to rain, simply raised the fears again that Indian team is a tiger only at home. The team of Virat Kohli had no space to go back; not one step. And they responded splendidly. After losing the toss, when England send them into bat in very helpful conditions, their batting responded like a true champion. First innings total of 329 was par score on that wicket and conditions. To add to that, their bowlers performed tremendously. In conditions far better than their opponent, England capitulated for a meagre 161 which was less than half of Indian total. Once in the driving seat, Kohl's batsmen showed their worth by batting England out of the contest. After that India win was a mere formality especially as the weather Gods were not going to oblige English team again, like at Lords. This was a very meritorious win for the Indian team especially due to severe mauling they had received in the Lords' test. With this win they are back roaring in the series with a clear message that we will not surrender that easily. England which must have been pleasantly surprised at the easy with which they got the lead in the series, must be contemplating now how to stop the momentum that is with the Indian team. Cricket is a mental game and so much dependent upon self-confidence. All Indian batsmen who looked clueless in the first two test barring Kohli, started showing some form that has taken the team to the top of the ladder.

More than anyone else, it must be the Indian bowlers who would have heaved a big sigh of relief! It is Indian bowlers who have kept the team afloat. And all they need is for their batsmen to give them a reasonable score to defend. Really Indian bowlers have been stupendous! It is a very balanced attack, with speed, swing and spin. This is not the first time that India has a good and balanced attack. But perhaps for the first time they are showing a consistency in line, length to suit the conditions. So far in the series, Indian bowlers have been the fastest across both the teams. Even Hardik Pandya is bowling faster than any English bowler! And along with that they are able to use the Dukes ball to a great effect. There is more than one reason for the bowlers to have upper hand in test matches in England. Grass on the wicket and heavy atmosphere definitely facilitate the swing and movement off the pitch. However, another critical point is the Dukes ball. Compared to Kukaburra and SG balls, Dukes has more pronounced seam which helps it to swing. Additionally, the ball retains the shine for a longer period and in fact starts swinging more after 10 to 15 overs as one side becomes rough. Under these conditions, a bowler has more than one weapon to aim at the batsman. That is the reason why the batsmanship needs more focus and planning. This is so much evident in the way in which Kohli has batted so far. 

For a batsmen who had a dismal tour of England last time he played there, this series was considered a massive challenge. And his duel with Jimmy Anderson was billed as the most important factor to decide the outcome of the series. If one looks at the scores, Kohli can be said to be winning that duel. Kohli has already scored 440 runs at an average of 73 so far with almost three centuries. And Jimmy Anderson has not dismissed Kohli even once so far! However, if one looks closely, one would realise how much respect Kohli has given to Anderson. Anderson has definitely not been supported by his slip cordon. He has gone past Kohli's edge many times in the series so far and should have had Kohli out twice. Kohli also knows that the battle is not yet won. He has remained extremely focussed. The way in which he has paid respect to Anderson's bowling putting aside his ego, is a sign of a champion batsman. This reminds me of one more contest between a batsman and a bowler. Sachin Tendulkar versus Shane Warne. That contest was billed exactly the same. And we all know the result! 

If this contest also goes the same way in remaining two tests, we may see a miracle. And I am calling it a miracle since no team has won a series after being 0-2 behind in England since 1937! So Indian team is not battling only English weather and the team. It is also the history! Is this Indian team capable of defeating history? Only time will tell, but my gut feeling is, we will still be asking this question at the end of the fourth test match that begins tomorrow.

Let us Talk about the fourth test to be played at the Ageas bowl in Southampton. In current season, Ageas bowl has seen highest average runs per wicket of all test playing grounds in England. Seam bowlers have taken more than 80% of the wickets.  While England must be worried about the threat from the Indian pace bowlers, they must feel that the best opportunity for them to upset the Indian batting revival is using movement in the air and off the wickets. They have to believe that in spite of their dominance in the last test match, Indian batters can be pressurised by swing and seam. They will also be hoping for the help from the weather gods like they did at Lords. And they will hope that their top order batsmen will be able to stand up to the indian pace bowlers. Additionally, they have a couple of problems to solve. Jamie Bairstow's finger injury has threatened to take out their best batsman of the series who is second after Virat Kohli so far in the series. Even if Bairstow plays, he will not be 100% and Indian bowlers will target his injured hand. England's major problem though, is poor opening partnership in the series so far and Joe Root's inability to emulate Virat Kohli in supporting the innings. Joe Root is a class act and he can not be expected to keep failing. However, they have another problem at numbers 4 & 5. Ollie Pope who is a young new recruit, is very promising batsman but because of batting failure around him he gets exposed. I am sure they will draw a lot of confidence from Josh Butler and Ben Stokes's partnership. So it will be interesting to see if they will continue with Pope at lower number rather than bringing in James Vince. As for bowling, Since first test, I believe that they missed a trick by not including Moeen Ali. In my opinion he would be more helpful than Rashid. Chris Woakes is doubtful due to some fitness issue. If he can't play England will have to play without the only other century maker of the series. However, that may be a blessings in disguise for England. It will allow them to play Sam Curran whose contribution was the difference between win and loss for the English team at Edgbaston. In my opinion England team should be Cook, Vince, Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Pope, Butler, Moeen, Curran, Broad and Anderson. They need to have more right handers in top order.

For India, I would prefer Virat Kohli plays with the same team as the one at Trent Bridge. Ashwin is expected to play. The batting unit has shown a bit of form and looking to build from there. There is no need to tinker with the bowling unit; all are performing optimally. So the prediction? As they say, the game is never finished till the last ball is bowled. I have an inkling that we will go to the last test match at Oval, with series still to be won or lost....