India vs England 2014: Time to make or break

Everything is at stake for the visiting team in England this summer. With the conclusion of the first Test match, few things are quite clear. Team India means business this time in their tour to England, but their bowlers will continue to allow tail enders of the opponent team become better batsmen in future. Most importantly, looks like Dhoni’s outdated style of captaincy in Test cricket will not undergo a change in this foreign tour too. With the 2nd Test match starting at Lord’s, both teams have their tasks cut out and can take a few positives too from the first match.

The Trent Bridge Test match was a draw mainly because of the flat track where pacers didn’t get much value of their efforts but the Lord’s Test is surely going to be different. The pitch is expected to have much assistance for the faster bowlers which gives a clear indication that the Indian batsmen are going to be tested. The likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have to play out of their skin and make sure they put up valuable runs for Team India, otherwise they won’t be able to avoid a defeat this time. But a lot will be going through Dhoni’s mind before the start of the Test match as he would be having problems in selecting his playing XI.

If the pitch maintains its greenish visage, he will definitely play Stuart Binny as his fifth bowling option. But if the pitch looks browner and drier, he may surely want to give R. Ashwin a chance to feature in the team. He maybe a bit concerned about Virat Kohli too. Kohli was unsure in the first Test match whether to go forward or back while playing against the faster bowlers and as a result of this confusion, he was easily trapped in between. He failed to perform with his willow but being a highly talented player, he will surely bounce back in the upcoming matches.

I would definitely want Rahane to start giving big contributions with the bat and not throw his wicket after getting a good start. It seriously hurts when a player, who is suited to play Test matches, gets out after getting a 30-40. One more area of concern is Shikhar Dhawan’s stubbornness as a batsman especially in Test cricket. He is not doing any good for himself and for his team as well. The worst part is that a quality player like Gautam Gambhir is being asked to sit instead of Dhawan. He is too good a player to be warming the bench and he should definitely play. If a player like Gambhir has been asked to come to England with the team, there is no way he should be left out of the playing XI.

The Nottingham Test did show the fighting characters of both the teams in the form of Joe Root, James Anderson, Ravindra Jadeja, Stuart Binny and Bhubaneshwar Kumar. The best part was that India did manage to put up a brave performance in the last day of the match to end the match in a draw. But I don’t think they should be very ‘proud’ of their performance.

They were, as always, on top of the match by the end of the 3rd day of the match. But they still managed to let the opportunity go by not being able to get the last wicket of the England batting and eventually conceded a 40 run lead to the hosts. They need to figure out a way to stop their ‘careless’ attitude or else their horrendous record in overseas will continue to flourish. This is getting on every supporter’s minds and looks like the team is least bothered or ignorant about it. Giving away golden chances were the root cause of our team’s forgettable performances in tours of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

I sometimes get the feeling whether Dhoni is disinterested in the longer format of the game. He looks clueless when the opponents start attacking. He was confident of his team when he had players like Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly. But to me, he looks a different guy in whites. He made a new Team India ever since he took up the captaincy in the ODI and T20 formats. He was never dependent on his ‘fantastic four’ in the shorter formats like he was in the longer format. It looks like he plays for a ‘draw’ and seems reluctant to take risks and push the team to press for a win in test matches.

He is totally a different guy in ODI’s and T20’s. He is willing to take risks and isn’t shy from taking decisions relying on his gut feelings. He needs to change his ways in test matches. This is his last chance and probably, his ‘only chance’. This is a redemption series for India as well as for MSD.

We will definitely get our answers in a week’s time. But all said and done, Team India has given us a glimpse hope of putting up ‘some’ fight this time in England. It should make for a keen contest between bat and bowl. Maybe the pitch and conditions are in favor of England, but if India can get answers to their solutions, they will come out all guns blazing and emerge on top. This is surely the time to ‘make or break’. All the best to both the teams. May the best team win.