England vs India 2018: Likely Indian playing XI for Lord's Test

After the 31-run loss in the first Test against England, India will have some tough selection decisions to make ahead of the second Test. Barring Virat Kohli, all the batsmen failed, while the bowling department still fared better. While Kohli got 200 runs in the last Test, other specialist batsmen had nothing much to show.

Murali Vijay got a combined total of 26 runs, Shikhar Dhawan got 39 runs, KL Rahul got 17 runs, and Ajinkya Rahane got 17 runs. India's loss can be summed by the combined failure of these specialist four batsmen.

All eyes are now on what team will India bring for the second game. The second England-India Test starts on August 9th (Thursday) at Lord's. Cricket experts such as Sourav Ganguly and Sanjay Manjrekar have rooted for not much tinkering in the batting lineup, as according to them too many changes will dent the confidence of the team and bring about insecurity in the camp.

The argument given by them is since it's a five-Test match series, all the batsmen who failed in the last Test should be given one more chance.

However, knowing Kohli, he will want to make those changes and have a team that will have a maximum chance of beating England in the second Test match. After all, if India lose the second match, it will be very difficult for them to come back in the series.

Let's analyze what team could Kohli select for the second Test match.

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Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire - Specsavers County Championship: Division One

Murali Vijay

Although Murali Vijay got only 26 runs in the last Test, I would believe he will hold his place because he got a half-century in the warm-up game against Essex. He also had a century against Afghanistan before coming to England, although it was in Indian conditions, which is totally different from conditions in England.

One more thing to be noted is that in the three Tests that he played against South Africa early this year, he got only 102 runs at an average of 17. This shows that he has not been able to counter foreign conditions, which as an opener becomes critical for the team's fortunes. However, India does not have a ready replacement for him, and he is set to hold his place in the team as an opener.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul was another specialist batsman who looked alien to the England conditions. He was all at sea against the moving ball. In the first innings, he got out to an inswinger from Sam Curran which he played on to his wicket. He scored only 4 runs in that innings, and these 4 runs also came via an edged boundary.

In the second innings, he was caught behind by the wicketkeeper by a Ben Stokes delivery which bounced a little more. Again, the manner in which he got out in both innings will worry the team management. However, Rahul is a dynamic player, and he is likely to retain his position for at least one more Test.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Although Pujara was overlooked for the first Test, the combined failures of the four specialist batsmen in the last Test makes him a certainty for the second Test. Although he is coming from a lean phase in the last few matches that he played for Yorkshire, he has garnered the rich experience of English conditions through his participation in county cricket this season.

County cricket experience is like a gold to a player preparing for Tests in England, and only Pujara and Ishant Sharma from this Indian team have participated in county cricket this year, as other players were busy playing in the IPL.

Pujara is likely to play in his customary number 3 position with Rahul taking up the responsibility of the opener in place of Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan had a very ordinary Test match against England at Edgbaston.

He got only a combined 39 runs but what would worry the Indian camp more was the manner in which he got out. In both the innings, he got out in the slip cordon chasing balls away from his body with hard hands.

A good Test player plays the ball closer to their bodies with soft hands so that the edge reaches the slip players on the bounce. What makes matters worse is that Dhawan got ducks in both the innings against Essex. This makes him the most likely candidate for replacement.

England v India: Specsavers 1st Test - Day Three

Virat Kohli

Kohli had a great game in Edgbaston, scoring 200 runs. He has also been in great form lately. He scored 286 runs in the three-Test match series against South Africa earlier this year at an average of 47.67. These were difficult conditions to score runs as was evident by the low scoring games that we had in South Africa.

Kohli also altered his technique for the first Test match against England, because of which he got more runs in that Test compared to the whole of 2014 England tour. I discussed the reason why Kohli was successful in the last Test in my previous article England vs India: What Virat Kohli did differently in the first Test. Being the captain of the Indian team and the great form he is carrying with him, he is a certainty at number 4.

Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane has found himself in and out of the team this year. To be fair, in the Test matches that he got the opportunity to play, he did not make full use of it. He is averaging in the twenties this year with the bat, whereas we are used to seeing him averaging in 40s and 50s in the past.

The lack of confidence was clearly visible by the way he approached his batting in both the innings. In the first innings, he got out chasing a wide delivery, which he could have easily left. In the second innings, he was focusing on surviving and never made any attempt to score runs.

However, he is likely to retain his place in the team as the number 5 batter as India doesn't have a ready replacement for him. The only potential candidate for his replacement is Karun Nair. Karun Nair became famous when got a triple century against England in 2016, but post that his form dipped and he was dropped from the team after five more Tests.

His recent form has also betrayed him. He did not have a good IPL this year, and his stint for India A also did not pay rich dividends. He scored only 4 against Essex, which makes his case even weaker for the next Test match.

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik also had an ordinary run in the last Test match as he could score only 20 runs and was ordinary behind the stumps as well. However, I think the team management will likely give him another chance as he showed some improvement in his batting in the second innings of the Edgbaston Test.

Like Kohli, he tried to counter the swing by batting outside his crease, which got him some runs. If he fails to perform in the second Test, he could most likely be replaced by Rishabh Pant.

Pant is in good form this year. He had a fantastic IPL having scored 684 runs at an average of 52.6. He was named emerging player of the year in IPL this year for his efforts. Post-IPL, he had a good stint with India A team as well, having scored five scores of above 50 runs.

England v India: Specsavers 1st Test - Day Three

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been tipped to be the all-rounder in the Test matches that India has been looking for a long time now. Pandya had a decent outing with the bat in the last match, but his bowling left a lot to be desired. He was ineffective as a bowler in the first innings, which meant that Kohli did not have the confidence to call upon him in the second innings. He has also been inconsistent with the bat before the England tour.

Except the 93 that he made in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa earlier this year, he failed in all the other five innings of that series. Does this mean he could be replaced by a proper batsman with India going with only four specialist bowlers? This scenario looks unlikely for now, and Pandya is set to maintain his position in the team.

Ishant Sharma

Overall, Ishant had a good Test match as he took a total of six wickets. He had ordinary first innings, in which he took only one wicket, but the change in strategy got him five wickets in the second innings. He bowled from around the stumps in the second innings to all the left-handers in the England team, which reaped him rich rewards. This will mean that his place in the playing eleven is guaranteed for the next match.

Mohammed Shami

Shami had good first innings in the last Test match in which he took three wickets. However, in the second innings, he was not able to handle the new ball effectively. This resulted in him going wicketless in the second innings. But I think he has done enough to win the confidence of the team management, especially with his performance in the first innings.

England v India: Specsavers 1st Test - Day Three

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin showed why he should be the first choice for a spinner in the playing eleven by taking seven wickets in the match. Ashwin was an improved spinner in the first Test match compared to the 2014 England tour. He bowled a little faster in the Edgbaston Test, as the wicket was slow. He also didn't try anything fancy and tried to maintain his line and length. He should be a certainty for the Lord's Test.

Kuldeep Yadav

India will be tempted to play two spinners in Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav in the Lord's Test, especially because of the dry weather prevailing in England currently. The hot weather and dry wicket should support spin bowling more than fast bowling. Kuldeep had a great stint against England in the recent T20s and ODIs as he tormented the home batsmen with his variations. Kuldeep's chances of playing in the eleven have been made even stronger as Umesh Yadav had an ordinary Test match at Edgbaston.

Although Umesh took three wickets in the match, he was largely inconsistent with his lines and lengths. Due to his inconsistency in the first innings, Kohli didn't give him a bowl until the 40th over of the second innings. The expectations were quite high from Umesh after he had taken four wickets in the warm-up game against Essex in the first innings. However, he failed to convert that form in the last Test.

Both Bhuvneshar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are injured and are not likely to be back before the fourth Test. This makes Kuldeep's chances of playing in the eleven brighter.

So, here is my pick for the Indian team playing eleven for the next Test match at Lord's:

Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.