England vs India 2018: 4 tactical changes India need to make for the second Test match

After an unfortunate yet disappointing loss in the first Test match at Edgbaston, India sure has positives to take but at the same time a lot of work on their hands to be focused.

The Indian bowlers did a fantastic job and there is not much that India would like to change about that but it's the batting that has let India down against the mighty England.

Indian captain Virat Kohli was the only inspiration while batting and as much as it speaks about his greatness, it also showcases how the Delhi batsman lacked support from his teammates.

We take a look at some tactical changes that can help India do better at Lord's in the second Test match of the series.

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#4 Shot selection

India's shot-selection was poor in the First Test match

Coming to England, India batsmen were wary of the fact that the conditions will not be the same as they are back at home.

The ball has been doing its magic off the track and it was quite evitable right from the first innings.

It was disappointing to witness that the Indian batsmen showed lack of patience and were dragged into shots they should have been defending well or at the least leaving it alone.

There is no denying that the English bowlers balled brilliantly but some of the shots by Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik and Ajinkya Rahane were terrible which cost them their wickets.

What’s more saddening is that had one of them made better decisions while batting, Virat Kohli would have had the support he desperately needed.

The Indian batsmen need to work on their shot selections the most and probably work on the same lines Kohli did prior to the game.

Kohli looked like a player with a plan to tackle the England bowling irrespective of the conditions and that is something others should do better come the second Test.

#3 Adapt Kohli-like technique:

Kohli's resilience was on another level at Edgbaston

As mentioned, Kohli was quite impressive with the tactic he deployed against the England bowlers. The bowl was swinging unpredictably after the first ten overs causing a lot of trouble for the Indian batsmen.

Kohli was clear from the onset that he would be playing much ahead from the crease and would shuffle sideways more than often to disturb the line and length of the England bowlers. He was able to nullify the unpredictable swing for the most part of the match.

It was a very smart strategy deployed by the Indian captain but it sure would have taken a lot of efforts.

The Indian batsmen need to work on similar lines and try to be stronger with their approach which will be helpful in sustaining the pressure applied by the Indian bowlers. Of course, players like Dhawan and Karthik are more used to shuffle around which will only make it easier for them to adapt to this technique.

It shouldn’t happen that Virat Kohli is left stranded alone in the fight to defeat the resilient English team at Lord’s.

#2 Capitalise on a good phase

Sam Curran was allowed to flourish which came to haunt India back

There were instances in the first Test where both India and England could have taken advantage of the good spell they were having and dominated the match.

But both sides let the other the chance to come back and it is safe to say both the teams took it with open arms. England started brightly in the first innings and it looked they were in for a big score before Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root succumbed in quick successions.

India should be credit for showing character and coming back in the game. Even in England’s second innings, India did very well to destroy the top order but they let Sam Curran shine in both the innings, who was the difference in the end.

Curran did the damage both with his bat and ball as the young Englishman ended up winning the Man of the Match award. Had India contained Curran early in his innings and capitalize on some missed catches, the outcome of the test match could have been different.

These are small things that hurt India in the end and that is something they shouldn’t let happen in the remainder of the series.

#1 Bring in Cheteshwar Pujara

India need Pujara to provide stability

The most hurting factor from India’s performances in the first Test was that no player other than Virat Kohli showed character to put a fight while batting.

The body language of most batsmen looked hesitant and that disrupted their decision making in many ways. It is astonishing how Kohli scored 200 runs in the entire Test match and India managed only 436 runs in total.

That is 45.87% runs scored by the Indian captain. While Indian can be immensely proud of having a batsman like Kohli, it clearly indicates the dependency on the Indian captain. India needs someone other than Kohli to step up every now and then to not only relieve the pressure from Kohli’s shoulders but also provide the support that can lead to big scores.

Ajinkya Rahane was dismal with his performance with the bat and it seems that his spot in the starting XI is more under scrutiny than most players right now and it is best that he’s given some time to figure out his mistakes and rework on his form.

India needs stability in the middle order and someone like Cheteshwar Pujara can just do that. Pujara needs to come in for Rahane in the second Test match itself to make sure India doesn’t just rely on Kohli when it comes to stepping it up with the bat.

In the 58 matches Pujara has played, he has an average of 50.34 and has scored four out of his 14 centuries away from India.

His defensive technique has been quite effective overseas and he will be needed to make sure India have someone to hold things tight in the middle order.