What should Team India do to win the 5th Test?

When Kohli’s men arrived at Southampton for the fourth Test, they had momentum on their side but they failed to capitalize on it. As a result, England pulled off a 60-run victory to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.

Moving into the fifth and final Test of the series at the Oval cricket ground, London, let us look at what Kohli’s men should do to win the fifth Test.

#1 Changing the call at the toss

For starters, India should win the toss if they wish to take control of the match. But the outcome of the toss can’t be controlled. In the last 4 Test matches, Kohli had called heads and all the four times he had lost the toss. For a change, this time around, Kohli should call tails and try his luck. This may sound weird but when things don’t go well, there is nothing wrong with trying something different.

The change of the call at the toss might change the fortunes of Kohli and Team India.

#2 Bat first

India should always look to bat first

Should India win the toss, they should have no hesitation in opting to bat first, irrespective of the conditions. Now it has become abundantly clear that the Indian batsmen can't even chase a modest score in the fourth innings. So the safest option for India would be to bat first, put runs on the board and leave the stage to the bowlers.

As the wicket at the Oval is expected to favor the spinners, it will be a great advantage to bat first.

#3 Change the team composition

Karun Nair deserves an opportunity

Ironically, in the fourth Test, the Indians went in with an unchanged side for the first time ever under Virat Kohl and got smacked. In the earlier 38 Test matches that Kohli had captained with different playing elevens, India had lost only 8 matches and won 22.

The last Test loss has necessitated some changes for the fifth Test. India would be better off dropping the out-of-form openers Rahul and Dhawan, the erratic wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and the overrated all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

The following changes ought to be made

1. Prithvi Shaw in place of K.L. Rahul

2. Karun Nair for Shikhar Dhawan

3. Dinesh Karthik for Rishabh Pant

4. Ravindra Jadeja for Hardik Pandya.

The injury concerns to off-spinner R. Ashwin might lead to a forced change.

Dinesh Karthik could open with Prithvi Shaw to lend a better balance to the team.

#4 The Indian batsmen should get going

The pillars of Indian batting

The Indian batsmen, especially the openers, should contribute to the team’s cause. The concurrent failure of both the openers has put a lot of pressure on the middle-order. Perhaps a new opening combination may bring in the desired results. Besides, the lower-order batting has been conspicuous by its absence.

The presence of Karun Nair and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle and lower-orders respectively should encourage someone like a Kohli to go for his shots and dominate the England bowlers. Ashwin has been a bit of a disappointment as a lower-order batsman in the entire series.

The over-reliance on Kohli is not a healthy sign and it is time now for the other batsmen to take on the responsibility. Like what Pujara did in the first innings of the last Test, one of the top order batsmen should aim to bat through the innings.

#5 Attack Moeen Ali the bowler and Sam Curran the batsman from the word go

Moeen Ali - The nemesis of Indian batsmen

Against any other opponent, Moeen Ali is just a part-time off-spinner who chips in with a wicket or two when called upon to relieve the main bowlers. But against the Indians, Ali suddenly turns into a phantom who could do no wrong. On most of the occasions, the Indian batsmen contributed to their own downfall against Ali resulting in soft dismissals. He should not be allowed to settle into a rhythm.

In the same manner, India should aim to dismiss Sam Curran the moment he arrives at the batting crease.

In the second innings of the first Test, Sam Curran and England added 93 runs for the last 3 wickets when he scored 63. Again, in the first innings of the fourth Test, Sam Curran and England added 160 runs for the last 4 wickets when his individual contribution was 78, the second highest score of the match.

The Indian bowlers failed to dismiss Sam Curran cheaply in the series. Sometimes, they were simply going through the motions having resigned to their fate that Curran would bat through the innings. One wonders the kind of impact that Sam Curran could have if promoted up the order.

Whenever Curran was adding precious runs with the tailenders, Kohli failed to attack him. Kohli was playing the waiting game by spreading the field around and allowing Curran to take singles at will. In the process, Kohli allowed the game to drift away.

In the fifth Test, instead of concentrating only on the tailenders, Kohli should attack Sam Curran in an effort to secure his wicket at the earliest opportunity. Allowing the England tail to wag one more time along with Sam Curran could hurt India dearly.

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#6 Grab the crunch moments and deliver the knock out punch

The Indians should seize the crunch moments

Throughout the entire series, the Indians have had their moments but they failed to capitalize on that. Some of those crunch moments were-

# When England were 87 for 7 in the second innings of the first Test,

# When England were 89 for 4 in the first innings of the second Test,

# When England were 86 for 6 in the first innings of the fourth Test,

# When India were 142 for 2 in the first innings of the fourth Test

On all those occasions, India failed to deliver the knockout punch and allowed England to crawl back into the game.

With the gulf between the two teams too narrow, in the fifth Test too the Indians would certainly come across such crunch moments. India should be prepared to seize such opportunities and deliver the knockout punch.

#7 Weed out the other negatives

Ishant Sharma has had his problems

It is not easy for Team India to eliminate the other negatives overnight. But if they aspire to win the fifth Test, they should weed out the following negatives:

# Bumrah’s perennial no-ball problems

# Too many extras in the form of byes

# Ishant Shama’s follow-through glitch while bowling round the wicket to left-handers.

# Soft dismissals against Moeen Ali.

# Butterfingers in the slips

Now that the series is sealed in favour of England, the Indian players should aim to express themselves in a stress-free environment in the fifth and final Test. It remains to be seen whether the Indian players have the intent and intensity to finish off this long and arduous tour on a high.