England vs India 2014: What India needs to do in the fourth Test

A disappointing loss for Team India atSouthampton, after they were defeated in almost all the aspects of the game (includingpoor slip fielding). The main reason for the loss was the poor batting display in Indias 1st innings despite a nice batting track followed by some decent (not extraordinary) piece of spin bowling from Moeen Ali in the 2nd with help from the 5th day pitch.It was a comprehensive win for England who ended their Test win drought and had their under pressure senior players scoring big runs. The fourth Test may as well decide the winner of this rare 5-match Test series; hence, it is very critical from Indias as well as Englands perspective to win this game. And its not going to be easy.Heres a list of things Duncan Fletcher and MS Dhoni must take into consideration for the next game:

#1 Play Gautam Gambhir

ICC's Test player of the Year (2009) has been warming the bench for the last 3 Tests, seeing India’s primary opener Shikhar Dhawan struggling outside the off stump just like Gambhir did on India’s last visit here although I have noticed a slight change in Gambhir’s technique outside the off stump in the practice matches before the series began (a fluent 21* against Derbyshire and a solid 54* against Leicestershire).

Gambhir also scored a flamboyant century last August for Essex in County Cricket, Gambhir was prepared to wait for the loose balls but also didn't lose out on opportunities to take a lot of singles. He also tended to leave balls outside the off stump. It is very important for India to get a good, solid opening stand which they haven’t got so far in this series and a calm, technically sound Gambhir along with Vijay has the ability to deliver that.

Dhawan in England: Innings – 6, Runs – 122, Avg - 20.33

#2 Get Ashwin in the team

The pitch at Old Trafford has historically been one of the quickest in England, but it will take spin later in the game. We saw how Jadeja could not manage to be a defensive option for the Indian skipper and in fact, he leaked runs. His effort from the bat too was poor.

Playing a specialist spinner like Ashwin gives India a defensive option in case runs start to come for the Englishmen and even an attacking option once the fast bowlers create some rough for him to exploit like Moeen Ali did in Southampton. Also, there are plenty of left handed batsmen in the English side who would find Ashwin more difficult to play than Jadeja. Ravi Ashwin also has ability with the bat and in my opinion, is a better batsman than Jadeja.

Jadeja’s Test batting average – 24.00; R Ashwin - 39.40

#3 Pujara and Kohli have to deliver

We can’t make too many changes in the side or it will disrupt the balance of it. Pujara at 3 and Kohli at 4 – these two men are the basically the heart and soul of the Indian middle-order.

While Pujara has got starts and later thrown his wicket away, Kohli has been struggling and seems to lack patience at times. They have to go in the middle and fight it out. A strong batting performance from India is critical as strike bowler Ishant Sharma is injured and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is doubtful for the fourth Test, so India can’t depend much on their bowling.

#4 Aggressive captaincy

Dhoni showed that he can be a good skipper even outside the subcontinent, we saw attacking fields and good decisions by him with a hint of aggression too, especially at Lord’s. Now, he has to lead the team from the front, much like Dada (Ganguly) did and perform with the bat too. Being a bit aggressive in English conditions always helps.

#5 Seam attack

With Ishant Sharma out, all the responsibility of fast bowling is on the shoulders of relatively inexperienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohd. Shami. Another blow to India could be if Bhuvi isn’t fit for the next test. So, assuming Kumar doesn’t play the next test, Aaron/Ishwar Pandey get in the team. My choice would be Aaron because of an extra bit of pace. First 2-3 days would probably support fast bowling and Mohd. Shami, Pankaj Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (or Aaron/Pandey) have to step up and deliver.