Murali Vijay continually gets stuck on the crease. Cheteshwar Pujara is vulnerable when the ball moves back in. Virat Kohli’s heavy bottom hand can be his enemy.
Ajinkya Rahane has a habit of checking his drives in the air back to the bowler. MS Dhoni finds a myriad of ways to lose his wicket.
These are the lessons to be gleaned about India’s main batsmen from the side’s most recent Test series, which they lost 3-1 to England.
Yesterday I spent several hours analysing each of the dismissals during that series by India’s possible top six against Australia: Vijay, Shikkar Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Dhoni (who is expected to play from the second Test onwards).
I have listed and described each of those wickets at the bottom of this article. Across the board, India’s batsmen were exposed for a lack of definitive forward movements to full deliveries.
All too often they were dismissed while glued to the crease by a delivery they should have played forward to. While they can get away with this poor technique on low, slow wickets in Asia, the Indian batsmen were found out on the more pace-friendly surfaces in England.
Only five of the 55 dismissals among those six batsmen came from short balls against England. This was because, aside from happy hooker MS Dhoni, the Indian batsmen largely chose to duck or sway out of the path of short deliveries.
England rarely set fields to get wickets from short pitched bowling and instead used bouncers as a means to keep the Indian batsmen from propping on to their front foot confidently.
While the Aussies will certainly deliver a barrage of bouncers in the second Test on an expected lively Gabba deck, their approach could be different at Adelaide given they will have picked apart the failures of the Indian batsmen in England.
Openers Dhawan and Vijay ran amok the last time they were paired against Australia in a Test, combining for a 289-run opening stand in the third Test at Mohali last March.
Dhawan looks set to be recalled to the Indian side today after being dropped three Tests into the series against England after making 122 runs at 20. Dhawan had particular trouble with England swing bowler James Anderson and was frequently loose in his front foot play, being out caught behind the wicket five out of his six dismissals.
Vijay was India’s best batsmen, with 402 runs at 40 in that series. Like his opening partner his issue was against fuller deliveries. Time and again, Vijay lost his wicket while failing to make a strong forward movement to a pitched up delivery.
All of his 10 dismissals for the series were from full deliveries yet only once was he making a full stride towards the ball.
First drop Pujara may have been more assured in moving towards full deliveries against England, but the Aussies will have noted that he regularly left a gap in between bat and pad and was twice bowled due to this fault.
Number four Virat Kohli had an absolute nightmare against England, making 134 runs at 13, which was the second-worst return in history by a specialist batsman in a five-Test series.
Anderson toyed with Kohli, repeatedly coaxing him into sparring at his trademark out swingers. Kohli’ tendency to close the face and try to use his bottom hand to work straight balls through the on side was exploited by England. He also clearly lost track of his off stump during the series which saw him twice dismissed while shouldering arms.
Ajinkya Rahane had a mixed series against England. He started strongly with a century and two fifties across the first three Tests before flopping at the business end of the contest.
Rahane found some unusual ways to lose his wicket. In the first Test he toe ended an attempted pull shot to silly mid off, before going on to thrice bunt tame drives straight back to the bowler for caught and bowled dismissals.
Indian batsmen’s dismissals against England:
Murali Vijay
1 – Stuck on the crease to fullish delivery from Anderson but unlucky to be given out LBW with replays showing ball was going over. 2 – Charges Moeen Ali, unsucesfully tries to loft him over mid off and is stumped. 3 – Looks to work full ball from Plunkett through the leg side and gets leading edge to third slip.
4 – Pokes at an Anderson out swinger and edges to the ‘keeper. 5 – Caught in two minds whether to leave a full Broad delivery and chops it on. 6 – Run out. 7 – Caught on crease again, edges full Anderson out swinger to first slip. 8 – Again no forward stride and trapped LBW by Chris Woakes.
9 – Once more, caught on the crease and edges a Woakes out swinger to fourth slip. 10 – Yet again stuck to the crease and this time adjudged LBW to an Anderson in swinger.
Shikkar Dhawan
1 – Caught by wicketkeeper off the front foot prodding at a full delivery round the wicket from James Anderson. 2 – Advances to Moeen Ali and chips a full toss back to the bowler. 3 – Gets a wonderful ball from Anderson which starts well outside leg stump and swings away late catching the edge to third slip.
4 – Tries to cut a ball too close to his body from Ben Stokes and finds backward point. 5 – Stuck on the crease to good length out swinger from Anderson and edges to first slip. 6 – Defends off front foot to Joe Root delivery and edges to slip.
Cheteshwar Pujara
1 – Half stride forward to Anderson in swinger and chips to short mid on. 2 – Gets wide long hop from Plunkett and hits it straight to backward point. 3 – Attempts front foot defence but Ben Stokes’ delivery decks back in and bowls him between bat and pad. 4 – Edges full out swinger from Plunkett to the ‘keeper.
5. Tries to sway out of the way of a Broad short ball and gloves it to the ‘keeper. 6 – Defends Ali off front foot and edges to slip. 7 – Half hearted drive to a full Broad ball, edges to fourth slip. 8 – Forward defence but misses Ali quicker ball and trapped LBW. 9 – Again bowled in between bat and pad playing front foot defence, this time by Broad. 10 – Front defence but nicks a lovely out swinger from Anderson.
Virat Kohli
1- Caught on crease to Stuart Broad delivery he should have played forward to, fishes outside off and edges to second slip. 2 – Looks to play across his front pad and is trapped in front by a Broad in swinger. 3 – Props on front foot and edges textbook Anderson outswing to the ‘keeper.
4 – Shoulders arms to Plunkett and has his off stump disturbed. 5 – Stuck on the crease, edges full Anderson out swinger to first slip. 6 – Defends off front foot to Ali and edges to the keeper. 7 – Half hearted forward defence, edges Anderson to first slip. 8 – Again unsure forward defence and edges Anderson to second slip.
9 – Second time for the series he leaves a full ball he shouldn’t have and is LBW to Jordan. 10 – Plays across the line to a full Jordan out swinger and nicks it to first slip while looking to work it through the on side.
Ajinkya Rahane
1 – Tries to pull Liam Plunkett short ball delivered from around the wicket but, bizarrely, toe ends it to silly mid off. 2 – Plays half hearted forward defence and edges a Broad in swinger to the ‘keeper.
3 – Checks a straight drive and chips the full ball from Anderson back to the bowler. 4 – Fends a Broad short ball up in the air to the ‘keeper. 5 – Charges Ali and scoops ball straight to mid off.
6 – Half hearted drive at a Chris Jordan outswinger, edges to second slip. 7 – Chips half volley from Ali back to the bowler. 8 – Bizarrely out caught and bowled for the third time in eight dismissals, again from a half hearted drive, this time against Jordan. 9 –No forward foot movement and prods from the crease at a Broad outswinger which ends in the hands of third slip.
MS Dhoni
1 – Run out. 2 – Plays across the line trying to whip a full in swinger from Plunkett through mid wicket and the ball cannons into middle and off stumps. 3 – Nicks full out swinger from Broad to the ‘keeper. 4 – Stuck on the crease to full Plunkett delivery and edges to the ‘keeper.
5 – Tries to pull an Anderson short ball and gloves it to the keeper. 6 – Forward defence and edges Anderson out swinger to the ‘keeper. 7 – Tries to slog a full Broad ball and scoops it to deep backward square. 8 – Charges Ali, tries to slog him over onside but finds mid wicket. 9 – Hooks a Broad short ball down fine leg’s throat. 10 – Tries to work a Woakes ball off his hip through leg side but inside edges it to short leg.
Harshal Patel was not a happy man!
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