England Lord it over India in first Test
Roar Rookie By fernal73, 28 Jul 2011 fernal73 is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Andrew Strauss, England cricket, india cricket, Indian cricket, Kevin Pietersen, Lords, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Test cricket
Mahendra Singh Dhoni had this to say about India’s first Test loss to England at Lords: “What could go wrong, went wrong.”
The Indian skipper attributed the defeat to three factors: Zaheer Khan’s injury, consequently the lack of a third seamer (the Jharkhand native rolled his arm over), and misfortunes (Gautam Gambhir’s elbow blow and Sachin Tendulkar’s viral flu) that forced the reshuffling of the batting order in the final innings.
The England captain, Andrew Strauss, hailed his side’s performance as “outstanding”, crediting Kevin Pietersen and the bowling unit for their pizzazz on the field.
Pietersen did the job expected of a Tendulkar for the home side, contributing 202 vital runs in the first innings. The margin of victory was 196 runs – no prizes for guessing why the South African born cricketer was adjudged man-of-the-match.
The Indians ‘enhanced’ their reputation of being poor starters in overseas’ series.
The positives that India can take from the outing are the exploits of Rahul Sharad Dravid, VVS Laxman, Abhinav Mukund and Suresh Raina, all of whom carried the Indian batting in the West Indies. Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma continued the tradition of Indian pacers outdoing themselves in helpful conditions abroad.
England’s batting stars are on the verge of greatness; there will be more stirring deeds in the coming years.
Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior underlined their credentials. Stuart Broad may have the makings of an Ian Botham – against lacklustre bowling. Chris Tremlett and Jimmy Anderson are no slackers, and Graeme Swann is always a threat.
The last time Kevin Pietersen scored a double was a 227 against Australia last year at Adelaide. We all know how that series ended. Is there a similar hiding in store for the Indians?
Former English captain Nasser Hussain slammed the Indian side as being a ‘ragged’ unit showing up woefully unprepared and lacking much needed match-practice.
Small consolation for Indian fans that the 2000th Test match and 100th between the two sides was not a damp squib.
Does MS Dhoni deserve his Test spot?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to step up in the batting department. His average in Test cricket is a lowly 38.32 with four hundreds and 21 half-centuries in 58 Tests.
He is considered the best wicket-keeper batsman India has ever produced. Statistics do not indicate otherwise. Among keepers who have played 40 Tests or more, Farokh Engineer is next best with 31.08 from 46 matches.
Among current wicket-keeper batsmen, the Indian ranks fourth after Matt Prior (45.4), Kumara Sangakarra (42.7) and Brad Haddin (39.68).
Over the past 12 months, Dhoni has chalked up 601 runs in 14 Tests at a measly average of 28.61 and a highest score of 98. It’s time the Indian skipper came to the party.
Poor performances can be overlooked as long as the team brings home the bacon – not when there’s cold salami on the table.
“Once harm has been done, even a fool understands it.” Homer.
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July 28th 2011 @ 8:44am
Viscount Crouchback said | July 28th 2011 @ 8:44am | Report comment
I think we’re seeing just how over-rated this Indian team is. Their Number One ranking flatters them because many of their ranking points have been earned in shortened two-Test series at home. Four Tests in England is a different kettle of fish altogether.
I predict 3-1 if Zaheer returns and 4-0 if he doesn’t.
July 28th 2011 @ 9:59am
dasilva said | July 28th 2011 @ 9:59am | Report comment
I think that’s slightly unfair. After all they did defeat England last time they toured there in a three test series (1-0). I think they are the only team in the world who has beaten England home and away the last series they played each other
Of course, this may change this series but India has shown in South Africa that they are slow starter in Test series but can fight back
I don’t think you can rule them out yet.
July 28th 2011 @ 1:08pm
Vas Venkatramani said | July 28th 2011 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
I wouldn’t rule them out yet dasilva, but to think they can come back after the sloppy showing against a classy and DISCIPLINED England outfit is another matter.
I capitalise discipline because that’s the crucial element here. Pound for pound, India can mount a case to be the world’s best. But in terms of work ethic, they are still well short of England. Even the current Australian mob works harder than India does.
I think Dhoni’s simplifying things too much when he says that what can go wrong did go wrong. That implies that were it not for Zaheer’s injury, or the injury/illness to Gambhir and Tendulkar, the result would have been different.
Zaheer bowled well until he broke down, but even in that time, he looked like a man struggling to keep up with the pace of the game. That’s what the diet of T20 cricket has done to the modern player’s fitness. If Zaheer plays again in this series, you can guarantee it will happen again. He needs to go hit the gym and lose some of the beer gut.
Gambhir was a loss, but Tendulkar has never been a prolific run-getter in the second innings. Within his classiness as a batsman still lies an inability to perform when India truly needs it. That will remain the one blight in his career that makes him the inferior of his modern day comrades Brian Lara and Stephen Waugh.
India don’t need minor changes so much as an attitude makeover to get back in this series. If they don’t, I think England can rightfully celebrate when the number one ranking heads their way in a month’s time…
July 28th 2011 @ 1:23pm
Linus said | July 28th 2011 @ 1:23pm | Report comment
What gets me with the Indian team, that no one doubts their class, their fighting spirit, their quality, but when you keep handing the initiative to the opposition with your under-preparedness and lack of match-practice going into a crucial series, you will always be fighting with your backs to the wall. That, while admirable , is not what’s expected from the No.1 team in the world.