4 Questions India should try to answer before the third Test

The first two test matches of the much-anticipated five-match Test series between India and England are over and India are in danger of another series loss. India showed a great fight in the first Test match at Edgbaston but was totally outplayed in the second one at Lords.

India has to make a comeback pretty quickly or else they will lose the series and the MAK Pataudi Trophy. India struggled really badly in the second Test as they couldn’t even score 150 in each of the innings. They batted only 82 odd overs, which means they were effectively bowled two times in a day.

Their bowlers also let them down in the second Test match as Woakes and Bairstow piled on the runs. The only positive news coming from the Indian camp is that Jasprit Bumrah is fully fit and will be available for selection from the 3rd Test. Virat Kohli’s back injury is a big concern for India. He might not be 100% fit for the 3rd Test at Trent Bridge.

The Indian team is currently facing a lot of criticism from the media and ex-cricketers. There are questions being raised over Ravi Shastri's position as head coach and Virat Kohli’s captaincy. There are plenty of questions and very few answers with the Indian team right now. So, here are 4 questions which the Indian team should try and answer before the 3rd Test starts.

#4 Who are the two best openers?

All the three openers have failed in the first 2 Tests

There has been constant chopping and changing for the opening slots. The three openers are constantly being rotated. In the first Test match, Dhawan was the top scorer out of all the three openers but still was dropped. More than the runs, the reason why Dhawan was dropped was due to the way he got out. He keeps driving the ball on the up which was why he was dropped.

But is this constant chopping and changing helping the confidence of players?

A young player like Rahul needs the backing of his captain. If he doesn’t know if he is going to play the next match then he will not play for the team but play for his place. Murali Vijay hasn’t scored a single 50 in the last 10 overseas Test innings.

This is not acceptable for an experienced player like Vijay. India should keep it simple and keep the same openers for at least 2-3 consecutive Test matches. Vijay has all the experience and it is time that he uses it in the 3rd Test.

Rahul has to be patient and wait for scoring opportunities. India needs to find their best openers for these conditions and stick with them for some time.

#3 Are two spinners really needed?

Kuldeep Yadav was ineffective in the match at Lords

Virat Kohli admitted in the post-match presentation that he got his team combination wrong for the Lords Test. Playing Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Umesh Yadav on a green wicket with overcast conditions wasn’t the right decision.

Traditionally, Trent Bridge overs swing and seam for the fast bowlers and playing two spinners at Trent Bridge wouldn’t be the right option. India should go in the 3 out and out fast bowlers. Shami and Ishant are already bowling well so leaving them out won’t make sense. Jasprit Bumrah who is fit for the third Test might just take up the role of the third pacer.

Kuldeep Yadav is definitely a bowler for the future but the current conditions won’t favour him. The famous heat-wave in England has also disappeared and the conditions are back to normal. India should look at the pitch on the morning of Day 1 and then try and answer the question of two spinners.

#2 Does India need an extra batsman?

Karun Nair has scored a triple hundred against England

India’s batting has been struggling since the South African Test series. India didn’t score enough runs in South Africa as well and that was the reason they lost the series. Same is the case here in England. In the 4 innings which India has played, they have crossed 250 only once that included a century from Virat Kohli. Kohli has been the lone warrior of the Indian batting line-up.

Experienced players like Vijay and Rahane haven’t scored any runs. The theory of playing with only 5 batsmen isn’t working for India. It is time that India brings in the extra batsmen in place of the all-rounder.

Even though Hardik has looked good at times, he is disturbing the team balance. India has the option of playing Karun Nair as the extra batsmen. India’s batsmen are struggling against the swing and seam of the England bowlers and it would be wise to play a proper batsman in place of a bits and pieces player.

#1 How will the Indian batsmen tackle the swing and seam?

India's batting has been clueless in the English conditions

This is the most important question which the Indian team has to answer before the 3rd Test. The Indian batting line-up has to come up with some game plan against the English bowlers. They have to be a bit more positive and look for run-scoring options rather than just defending.

Only blocking isn’t helping them as we saw in the case of Pujara who scored only 17 runs off 87 balls and eventually got a ball which got the better of him. There is no doubt that they are up against a world-class bowling line-up which includes the likes of Anderson and Broad, but still, India should have some answer.

India can’t keep committing the same mistakes. India needs to find some sort of a method to score runs against this bowling attack or else India will be staring at another overseas series defeat.