Jack Leach’s knee injury gives Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum something to think about, as they now bank on Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, and Rehan Ahmed to help Bazball succeed in India.
With the Series level at 1-1, the momentum is with Rohit Sharma and his Men in Blue, who pulled off an impressive victory in Visakhapatnam by 106 runs, and England will need to show resolve with the ball to keep India’s batters intact.
Embed from Getty ImagesJames Anderson showed why he still is a modern great of the game, with 3-47 in the first innings, and 2-29 in the second.
And if it wasn’t for him, England could easily have lost this match by a lot more runs.
That’s why the inexperienced spin trio of Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, and Rehan Ahmed need to prove why they deserve to be part of England’s Test set-up, especially for the future. And this starts on Thursday in Rajkot.
Embed from Getty ImagesRavichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav were slightly more expensive, however, they looked more threatening than England’s spinners, albeit it was Bumrah’s brilliance that won India the match.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlso, with Stokes unable to bowl himself due to knee surgery, he may have to rely on Joe Root to bowl some more over, which is a tough ask in hot conditions, especially when your main role is a batsman.
Embed from Getty ImagesAmongst the three England spinners, it is Hartley who has looked the most impressive so far in this Series.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe tall left-arm spinner is the second-highest wicket-taker in the Series, with 14 wickets, at an average of 24.57, and a strike rate of 41.2. Can he keep up the good work for the rest of the Series?
Embed from Getty ImagesBashir, on the other hand, did not have an impressive debut, as he was taken to the cleaners in the first innings by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a magnificent 209 off 250 balls.
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But as Stokes is a Captain who likes to attack, perhaps it would have been beneficial to set a defensive field for Bashir, just to settle him down, as it’s never easy bowling in these conditions, especially when you are a debutant.
What also helps, is if your batsmen put in enough runs i.e. 400-500 on the board. This gives the captain the luxury of setting attacking fields.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd that was the case with Ollie Pope’s 196 in the second innings of the first Test, which helped England set a winning score of 230, which India fell short of by 28 runs.
Given that Rajkot is usually a flat surface, Stokes may opt for a balanced attack, with two seamers and three spinners, but we will have to see what the conditions are on the morning of the 3rd Test.
If he does decide to do that, I will drop Bashir for Mark Wood, and then use Root as the third spinner, specifically because of his accuracy in line and length.
But whoever he decides to pick in the XI, they must get off to a good start in the match, to be in with a chance of winning it.
Jadeja Back, Kohli and Rahul Out
Embed from Getty ImagesAs far as the hosts are concerned, there is a major boost for them as All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returns from a hamstring injury, which he picked up after being run out in the first Test.
But with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav doing a fine job at Visakhapatnam, it will be interesting to see who makes way for ‘The Rockstar’.
Can England bounce back in Rajkot or will India make it back-to-back victories?
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