England v India 2014: What went wrong for India at Old Trafford

At the ongoing Test match in Harare, Zimbabwe’s No. 9 batsman Donald Tiripano managed to keep the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander at bay for 67 deliveries. That’s 9 more than any Indian batsman managed to face on day 3, with the highest being Ravichandran Ashwin’s 56, in pretty good batting conditions against an England attack that didn’t even have Stuart Broad.

This was, without second thoughts, one of the worst Indian performances ever.

An embarrassing loss for a promising young team, which looked so good and had a fighting spirit just two Tests back when they won formidably at the ‘Mecca of Cricket’; now they look a different team altogether. India lost by a huge margin of an innings and 53 runs. The main cause of the defeat was the batting and not a very strategically correct decision to bat first by the Indian skipper.

Let us take a look at what went wrong for India at Manchester:

Indian batsmen had a forgettable match

Playing two spinners, 6 batsmen

This point has two parts:

Firstly, the Old Trafford pitch was fast and bouncy and the overcast conditions helped the ball swing a lot more than in the previous matches this series. The team selection was almost on target, but, if I had to go with 5 bowlers – which I possibly wouldn’t have done, I would have gone with 4 seamers and 1 spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin replacing Ravindra Jadeja. My bowling attack would have included Mohammed Shami, who would have enjoyed the pace and bounce on this pitch, along with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Aaron and Pankaj Singh.

Secondly, we all knew that Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli - the men on whose shoulders the Indian batting line-up rests – are struggling, our skipper has had problems with technique on seaming wickets, and that we haven’t been able to get good opening stands. While bringing in Gautam Gambhir, as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan, was a good move, there would understandably be too much pressure on a player making a comeback on a seaming wicket; we saw how nervous and struggling he looked in his short stays at the crease. That is exactly why I believe they should have played six specialist batsmen, which would have seen Rohit Sharma getting one more match. Although I’m not saying that the 6th batsman would have done wonders, he would have added a little bit more steel to the already brittle line-up.

Electing to bat first

It is well known that, in England, it is not just the pitch that matters but the overhead conditions, as well; when you see dark clouds in the sky, it is a no-brainer to not bat first. With the Indian pace bowlers’ strength being swing, Bhuvneshwar and Co., would have loved the conditions and the pitch on day 1. We all knew that the batting lineup wasn’t in a very good shape. Indian batsmen struggled and seemed impatient in the first Innings, which possibly cost the match.

Faulty technique by the batsmen

Vijay - This guy has totally mesmerized us with his technique and the judgment of leaving the ball so well in the series, although he did disappoint us in this Test. The opener from Tamil Nadu was caught by Alastair Cook off a James Anderson delivery for a duck in the first innings and lbw on 18 by Chris Woakes in the second.

Gambhir - The comeback man had loads of expectations from fans all over India. Unfortunately, though, he looked all at sea. In the 1st innings, he was out for 4; he batted in a similar fashion as he did in the disastrous visit here in 2011. It was nice to see the 32-year-old fighting hard in the 2nd innings, but he finally perished failing while trying to sway out of the way to an Anderson bouncer. It would be fair to say that the left-hander was selected in the team on reputation alone, and he should have cashed in on Dhawan’s bad form. If Gambhir plays the next Test, it may well be his last if he doesn’t perform well.

Pujara – Nothing much to say here. Not something you would expect from someone who is touted as Rahul Dravid’s successor.

Kohli - Impatience and lack of concentration have been his undoing so far.

Rahane - I find a lot of similarities between him and the great Sachin Tendulkar: in the way they bat, in the way they build their innings, and, in particular, in the way they play that classic straight drive. He did struggle a bit in this Test, but no complaints, as, with the top order failing on both the occasions, he walked into a very difficult situation for a young no.5 batsman playing his first Test series in English conditions.

Dhoni - A captain’s innings, he showed that willpower has greater impact on the match than ability and technique. He was the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal batting performance. Dhoni played well above his potential on a seaming track.

Ravichandran Ashwin – Picked for his bowling abilities, the off-spinner, as he has shown in the past, looked more a batsman than any of the top order players, with classy strokes flowing off the bat.

Virat Kohli

Bowling and Captaincy

Defensive approach by the captain didn’t help much either. Playing two spinners, India struggled to get 10 English wickets on time, and, by the time they got them, England had already run away with the match.

While Pankaj Singh leaked runs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Aaron can’t be faulted for their efforts.

Now that the hosts are 2-1 up in the series, India have to win their next match to save some pride. We’ll see what strategy Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher go for in the fifth Test; I’m hoping they go back to the 7 batsmen theory. Cheers!