by The force will be with England and they will never have a better chance of taking a 2-0 lead in India than this week against their far inferior opponents.
England could rarely enjoy such a turnaround in a matter of days from bouncing back in the first Test to seeing India lose experienced players as well as their nerves in the face of on Bazball in full swing.
It has been a long time since England were gifted such a weak Indian batting line-up after losing KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in this Test in addition to Virat Kohli’s absence and Rishabh Pant’s long-term injury. Not since 2011 has India picked a Test team without either Kohli or Jadeja. With Mohammad Shami also injured, every aspect of the Indian side is weakened.
Rahul and Jadeja top scored in India’s first innings at Hyderabad but now India are relying on Shubman Gill, who averages 29, Shreyas Iyer, who is not out at 35 in 11 innings, and debutant Rajat Patidar.
England have toured India since the mid-1990s and have come up with middle orders that have remained unchanged for years: Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman to Pujara, Kohli and Rahane.
Now Rohit Sharma must quickly create an environment that allows the youth to flourish, as he does under Ben Stokes. If not, England can make huge strides to end India’s run of 16 consecutive home series wins.
The pitch looks flat without Hyderabad’s scrambled ends showing that England are already being forced to rethink. The urgency was such that Rahul Dravid, India’s head coach, flew to Vizag independently of both teams early on Tuesday morning to oversee the preparations.
It now feels like a good batting pitch is India’s best bet as they have the one bowler on either side in Jasprit Bumrah who can perform on any surface and their young batsmen need confidence in scoring to set them up for the series.
There is a risk that a freeze will allow England to be even more aggressive and it is difficult to play on the opponents he has plunged into that it is the process that matters, not the end result. It inspires a bravery that is hard to resist, especially for an India team that bears the scars of its World Cup final defeat.
“It’s a lot more than simply not caring about results,” Stokes said. “Every time we walk out on the pitch we want to win but for me that’s not expected because you have to do a lot of things to get there… it’s not a start and an end, there are so many people. things you have to maneuver around in a Test match and it’s about trying to play as well as you can. If either team plays to their potential or as close as they can, they will give themselves the best chance.”
Stokes has convinced his players to put their full trust in the method and that is why they are so difficult to kill – as India found out in Hyderabad and Edgbaston in 2022 when they led by 132 runs but lost by seven. wickets. It makes opponents very difficult to size them up.
If the pitch is level, India will think of pulling a game back and if they win, bat and pile up a big score. That means England will face another challenge. Scoreboard pressure looked irrelevant in Hyderabad, however, and they scored 500 on the day in Rawalpindi on a real flattie. This is what makes England an opponent: doubt its methods and overthink strategies that have worked for years.
The field can bring the draw into the equation, which India would take and Kohli hopes to tilt the balance if he returns for the third Test. Stokes would have to look for traction in the dictionary and will try to produce a result, regardless of the conditions. He will be happy to lose in pursuit of victory.
England may go with an extra seamer, James Anderson may come in for Rehan Ahmed, a move that weakens the batting but gives Stokes more control and a reverse swing option.
Jack Leach’s absence gives Shoaib Bashir a path to a Test cap just months after playing club cricket in the west, which would sound barmy in most eras, but with Stokes’ record of luring liars into a performance on way beyond expectations, it feels natural. to throw in
“My thing with spinners is to give them as much support as I give every other bowler, because they are just as important regardless of skill,” Stokes said. “I want you to come forward and do something. A bowler’s job is to take wickets and they obviously wouldn’t let themselves worry about the result. The scoreboard is something I don’t look at until the end to see how many runs are left to win or whatever. I think it gives them a bit of confidence to know that one spell won’t mean too much.”
Stokes first saw Bashir’s potential when he saw footage of him bowling with Alastair Cook and shared it in his WhatsApp group with Brendon McCullum and Rob Key. Forget the data analytics that flood cricket these days. Stokes trusted his gut. He hasn’t let England down very often so far.
