3 things England need to do right to level the series vs India in Ranchi Test

Having come back from behind to clinch the opening Test against India in Hyderabad by 28 runs, England now find themselves in a tricky position, having lost the last two Test matches.

India fought back with vengeance to square the five-match series with a 106-run win in Visakhapatnam. The hosts went on to dominate the third Test in Rajkot, registering a record win by 434 runs - their biggest triumph in Test cricket in terms of margin of runs.

Home boy Ravindra Jadeja scored a hundred in the first innings and picked up a five-fer in England’s second innings to be named Player of the Match.

Further, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s double hundred, Sarfaraz Khan’s twin fifties on debut and some other impressive performances put England under big pressure in the Rajkot Test. They eventually succumbed to an embarrassing defeat.

The visitors now need to win the fourth Test in Ranchi to ensure they level the series. On that note, let’s look at three things England need to do right to win the Ranchi Test and stay alive in the series.

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#1 Find a method to Bazball madness

Ben Stokes’ bat has been rather silent in the series so far. (Pic: Getty Images)

In the build-up to the series, it was pretty clear that the contest would be decided on the basis of how effective England’s Bazball proves against India’s quality bowling attack. The visitors drew first blood in Hyderabad courtesy of a superb counter-attacking knock of 196 by Ollie Pope. However, things haven’t quite gone according to plan for England since then.

They were bowled out for 253 & 292 in Visakhapatnam and 319 & 122 in Rajkot. Barring a couple of players, their batters have struggled to adapt to Indian conditions, which, as experts had predicted, was always going to be the challenge with Bazball in India. With the series on the line, it will be interesting to see how England approach their batting in Ranchi.

If we look at the top run-getters in the series, Ben Duckett and Pope are among the top three on the basis of one good innings each. Opener Zak Crawley has 226 runs in six innings, captain Ben Stokes 190 and Ben Foakes 109.

What will worry England is the fact that Joe Root has looked out of sorts while attempting Bazball and Jonny Bairstow without attempting it. The English batters, of course, should not go into their shell, but they clearly need to find a method to their Bazball madness. Their current approach is taking them nowhere.

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#2 Their bowlers cannot allow India’s young batting unit to dominate

James Anderson has not been as effective as expected. (Pic: Getty Images)

England have come to India with a relatively inexperienced bowling attack. James Anderson is of course a veteran of the game and Mark Wood has reasonable experience of international cricket. The spinners, though, are pretty much raw at the top level.

Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley did admirably well to claim seven wickets in the second innings and bowl England to victory on his Test debut in Hyderabad. India’s batters, however, have played him well since then. Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir too are just beginning their Test careers.

What would concern England about their bowling performance in the previous Test is the manner in which India’s young batters dominated them, especially in the second innings. Jaiswal even took on Anderson and slammed him for three consecutive sixes in an over. Sarfaraz also enjoyed himself on debut, hammering England bowlers with ease.

The visitors will need to be much more proficient with the ball in the Ranchi Test. They cannot afford to leak runs as easily as they did in Rajkot, else India could put them under the pump yet again. Anderson, for one, will have to lead the attack, bringing his vast experience into play.

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#3 England’s fielders need to hold on to their catches

The visitors have dropped a few crucial catches in the series. (Pic: Getty Images)

The cliché of catches win matches never grows old irrespective of the format. England have had their troubles in the field and have had to pay a heavy price for the same. In the first innings of the Rajkot Test, Root dropped Indian captain Rohit Sharma at slip in the 13th over.

The hosts had already lost three wickets for 33 runs and Rohit’s wicket would have put India under immense pressure. Rohit made England pay for the lapse by going on to score 131 runs. Much later in the Indian innings, Pope dropped a sitter of a catch offered by debutant keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.

The visitors dropped a couple of catches in the Visakhapatnam Test as well. Ravichandran Ashwin was put down by Crawley at slip, a regulation catch, before he could get his eye in in the second innings.

The lower-order batter went on to contribute a handy 29, which aided India’s victory push in the second Test. England can ill-afford such lapses in the do-or-die Ranchi encounter.