England finds itself in the middle of an extremely rare scenario; it hasn’t played a single warm-up match to acclimatise itself to the Indian conditions prior to the first Test that goes underway on 9th November. However, as baptism by fire goes, they had more than their fair share of it, losing to Bangladesh on a minefield of a track where they couldn’t deal with the spin dished out by a newcomer ably supported by a veteran.
India, on the other hand, are riding high winning massively against New Zealand and they’ve the motivation and the hunger to settle scores having lost their last three Test series against England, one at home (a heart-breaking one) and two away. Ahead of the first Test, plenty of unanswered questions and suspense remain over the composition of both teams. Both teams have potential caps to dish out and both teams have been hampered a little bit by injuries. Here are the top 5 talking points of the first Test.
#1 Will Karun Nair and Hardik Pandya both get debuts?
Gautam Gambhir, thanks to injuries to Shikhar Dhawan as well as KL Rahul is definite to get another game as an opener, probably more than just one. That means India have five batsmen who have booked their place already – Murali Vijay, Gambhir, Chesteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. The big question is will India hand out a Test cap to Karun Nair or Hardik Pandya or both.
Nair is the classical batsman, almost a like-for-like replacement for Rohit Sharma, with lots of runs at the first-class level. He has been forged well under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, even though he didn’t have the best of times playing for India A down under. That shouldn’t take away from the fact that he has been in excellent form this domestic season. Hardik Pandya, in stark contrast, has taken a different route – from IPL to T20 cricket and then to ODIs. He is fast and offers India a two-in-one option, something Indians yearn for – a fast bowling all-rounder.
The first Test might feature both of them, Nair at No.6 and Pandya as one of the two seam-bowlers. However, that seems unlikely. Of the two, Nair has a better chance as India looks to strengthen their batting on a Rajkot track that may not really be conducive to Pandya’s seam bowling.
#2 Will Virat Kohli bury his demons?
Coming off the back of a winning Test series against New Zealand, in which he scored a double century, Kohli will want to do what great batsmen always do – bury their demons in style. As skipper, he has responsibility and he will; like he is known to do, stamp his authority on the match. While two double-hundreds, one in West Indies and one in India, will give Kohli strength, the numbers playing on his mind will be his average against England in 17 innings – a meagre 20.12.
The pressure will also be on him to prove he is up there with Joe Root or may be better. He can definitely do it, given he has the better team and has the better knowledge of the conditions. He will have to make sure he handles Broad well and doesn’t go all-guns-blazing in the very first match.
#3 Will Amit Mishra get a game?
Amit Mishra can technically get a game only if India decide to go with five batsmen, two seamers and three spinners. A single seam-bowler would still not mean Mishra’s inclusion as the vacated place will most likely go to the all-rounder Hardik Pandya. One feels bad for Mishra who has done well for India picking up 15 wickets, including a 5-wicket haul, in the recently concluded ODI series against India. Mishra has 71 wickets in 20 Test matches, but is unlikely to split the Ashwin-Jadeja duo.
Ashwin and Jadeja have picked up 58 and 37 wickets in the last 7 Tests that they have played in India. Ashwin’s guile and Jadeja’s robotic consistency and accuracy have served India well and one would wonder if Kohli will go for a spin-heavy side on a turning track. It wouldn’t be a bad idea!
#4 Will James Anderson play in first or second Test?
Anderson has been rushed into the team squad and that might give Alastair Cook, who lost his first match as skipper without James Anderson or Stuart Broad in the team, recently against Bangladesh, some relief. Anderson has recovered from the shoulder injury but couldn’t get a practice game in the sub-continent owing to security complications. He may have dropped his pace a little bit but his reverse swing might be vital for England to post any challenge.
Steven Finn will most likely be his replacement as England will use Ben Stokes as the third seamer. One would feel, Finn with his pace and bounce is a better option in the dry sub-continental conditions where pace matters as there is no lateral movement or swing available to assist the bowlers. England have a lot of thinking to do!
#5 Will England go with both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid?
While Moeen Ali is a definite starter, contributing consistently with bat and ball, the big question is whether he will be complemented by Adil Rashid. Rashid picked up 10 wickets in 3 ODIs against Bangladesh, the highest in the series by any bowler. In 2 Tests, he picked up 7 wickets at an average of 29.85, something that doesn’t inspire too much confidence. Ali himself picked up 11 at 22.9 on tracks that were extremely helpful to spinners.
Although Rashid is a good leg-spinner and a stable lower-order bat, he may have to compete with domestic veteran Gareth Batty, who is primarily a batsman and then an off-break bowler. Alternatively, England may go with all these three by sacrificing a genuine batsman. One wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the England captain or coach right now.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
