India vs England 2016: 5 things England must do to stage a comeback in the series

The England Cricket Team finds itself in a corner in the ongoing Test series against the Indian Cricket Team. After having staged a fight in the first Test match in Rajkot, the Alastair Cook-led team has struggled to stay afloat in the remaining two matches.

The fact that the pitches which have been dished out are not rank turners is a testament to the fact that the visitors have crumbled under pressure and have failed to seize vital moments in the match.

Their struggles were such that even after winning a crucial toss in Mohali, their batsmen were not able to drive home the advantage and were rolled over in 4 days.

The selectors have responded and have roped in young players in the squad. Here in this list, we take a look at 5 ways in which the visitors could look to fight back in the fourth Test match and hence in the series.

#1 Gameplan against spin

If a team is in India, it has to expect a turning ball. There are no two ways about it and the surprise factor can no longer be held as an excuse. The England batsmen were spun out in Bangladesh by a young off-spinner Mehedi Hasan, and the pundits predicted that they would be blown away by the Indian spinners.

However, unlike in Bangladesh the pitches for this series have been neutral surfaces where the ball has not misbehaved at all. Despite this, the English batsmen have struggled to decipher the Indian spinners and have fallen prey to R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav.

For them to stay afloat in the series, a proper game plan is needed and the batsmen will have to chalk out a plan to counter the spinners. Attack or defence, they will have to stick to their plans, but at the same time should be competent enough to adjust to the varying conditions.

#2 Too much reliance on the 2-3 players

Jonny Bairstow has been strong in the middle order

Very often this year, the England team have been bailed out by the lower and middle order. Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow have been prolific run scorers this year and thus a lot of pressure keeps falling on them.

Apart from them, Joe Root has looked most adept at the top of the order. Captain Alastair Cook is not quite himself and has been struggling against both Mohammed Shami and R Ashwin.

In order to succeed, the batsmen will have to buckle down and share the work load amongst themselves.

#3 Batting once and batting big

Alastair Cook holds the key at the top of the order

Over the years, the modus operandi in the subcontinent has been to bat once and bat big. The England team was successful in doing so in the first Test match and put the hosts under pressure.

Unfortunately for them, they have not been able to do this over the next two Tests and have fallen behind in the match. To play the catching up game is not easy, more so on surfaces where the ball starts turning and gripping from day 3.

Scoreboard pressure is a big factor in India, and thus first innings batting assumes great importance. The English boys will have to buckle down and look to bat big in order to put the hosts under pressure.

#4 Spinners will have to put in more on the ball

The onus lies on Adil Rashid

Before we discuss this, we must go back to 2012, when the English spinners outbowled their Indian counterparts by a fair margin. Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar used more of their bodies into the ball and thus derived much more assistance from the pitch.

The present spin contingent of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid have not been able to derive as much from the surface or in the air. Ashwin and Jadeja have been more successful primarily because they have been able to fox the batsmen in the air through their dip, loop and drift.

Thus, the bottom-line is that the English spinners will have up the ante and impart more revolutions on the ball and should look to deceive the batsmen in the air and not just depend on the surfaces.

#5 The seam bowling contingent

The pace bowling contingent will have to provide breakthroughs

Let's face it, England are far superior in their seam bowling department as compared to the spin bowlers. Thus, the team management should look to play their best bowlers and not include a spinner just for the sake of it.

Gareth Batty, who was included as the third spinner in the Mohali bowled only a handful of overs, and one could not help but think about the impact that a Steven Finn or a Jake Ball could have had on that surface.

Thus, Trevor Bayliss and Alastair Cook should look to play their best eleven and go in with 3 fast bowlers for the fourth Test match.