Two players India should drop for the third test against England

India lost a one sided affair at Lord's against England by an innings and 159 runs. The Indian batsmen capitulated against Anderson and company. Interestingly, the test match finished in 170.3 overs, which is less than the number of overs required to be bowled in two days, while India were bowled out twice in the space of just 82.3 overs, as they managed to score just 237 runs. There were a some moments in the game where India could have changed the match but failed to do so.

The Indian bowlers performed well, but an over-dependence on Mohammed Shami was always going to be a problem for the visitors. But it were the Indian top order batsmen who failed to deliver, shown by the fact that it was Ravichandran Ashwin who top scored in both innings with 29 and 33 runs respectively. He is the first Indian batsman to top score in each innings of a Test batting at number eight or below in both innings, and the sixth to do so overall after Tup Scott, Lee Germon, Guy Whittal, Peter Siddle & Graeme Cremer.

Except for Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin, none of the batsmen were able to make any sizeable contribution. A much better performance was expected from the experienced Indian batting line-up.

After a horrendous batting display in first two tests, the team management should consider their place in the side. These are the two players who should be dropped from the Indian Test team for third test following defeat in the opening two matches.

#2 Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay has been out of form

Expectations were high for Murali Vijay on the tour of England, but he scored a pair in the second test at Lord's. The Indian opening batsman has been out of form for some time now, and it has really begun to put pressure on the lower order batsmen.

Vijay had a terrible Test series against Sri Lanka at home, and despite being tagged as the test specialist of the team, Vijay's performances have been inconsistent. Having failed to make any contribution in second Test, he has now scored just 26 runs in four innings on this tour, including two ducks.

Vijay might face the axe if his poor form continues.

#1 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has had a terrible run on English soil

One player who has been given far too many chances on the English soil is Dinesh Karthik. He has been miserable playing in English conditions. While Karthik has been a rock in subcontinent conditions, his technique has been found wanting against quality bowling-attacks in bowler friendly conditions.

In both the innings of the second test, the wicket-keeper batsman was guilty of throwing away his wicket by playing the loose shots. He scored 21 runs in two tests with scores of 20, 0, 1 and 0 respectively. Due to his terrible form, he is likely to be dropped from the playing XI in the upcoming third Test.