England vs India 2018, 3rd Test: 3 mistakes India cannot afford to make

#3 ‘Defend only’ mentality

Indian batsmen have been too reserved to play shots

Indians, right from the first test, have been on the backfoot and have resorted to defence. More defence. And even more defence. They are so fixated that they let innocuous loose balls pass by unharmed. In these conditions that one ‘unplayable’ Anderson or Broad delivery is forever around the corner. So just leaving balls and defending isn’t going to get the scoreboard ticking and unfortunately, in cricket, victory is dependent on runs.

After sweating it out for hours, when batsmen finally lose their wicket to a dream delivery, it is so disheartening to see that not many runs are tagged against their names. Players can take a leaf out of Ashwin’s book who doesn’t think twice before treating the loose balls with due punishment and has been aptly rewarded. Controlled aggression has always proven to be a winner.