5 challenges for India before the England tour

The Opening partnership headache

In England, where pitches are expected to have grass, the opening duo will need to stand up

One of the big reasons why Kohli had to churn out a bulk of India's runs in the tour to South Africa is because the opening partnership hardly gave him a start to work upon.

The management tried all three openers on tour- Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay- but not one pair proved to be successful on wickets that demanded patience and application on their part.

In England, where pitches are expected to have grass, the opening duo will need to stand up and be counted for else India could face the possibility of exposing the middle-order sooner than what they would like.