The third Test between England and India will resume on July 10 at the Lord's Cricket Ground.
England were 1-0 up after Headingley. India were torn apart, like a piece of paper. As the teams for the second Test at Edgbaston were announced, India’s playing XI didn’t have Jasprit Bumrah. As a result, fans were flabbergasted. Pundits of the game ridiculed the decision to bench one of the best bowlers in the world. Many stakeholders of the game hung up a frame on their wall, which said England 2-0! But the Indians scripted a terrific comeback. Captain Shubman Gill rose to the occasion and led from the front, scoring 430 runs in the Test. And then it was time for Akash Deep to prove his mettle. After all, he was a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah! The pacer from Bengal went on to bag 10 wickets in the game, to help India script a wonderful turnaround.
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And now the series heads to the Home of Cricket. It couldn’t have been at a better stage. The Englishmen are shaken to their core. Moments after their loss at Edgbaston, the hosts announced the addition of Gus Atkinson to their squad. Jofra Archer was added to the setup after the first Test, but Ben Stokes chose to bench him for the second. Brendon McCullum and Co. are now giving full indications of both of the premier bowlers making it to the playing XI for the third Test at Lord’s. Moreover, the Englishmen accepted the pitch at Edgbaston to be a ‘subcontinent’ type, and are expected to spice the Lord’s deck up with pace and bounce. The visitors must now have their answers ready. Here’s what India can do to shape their playing XI in the third Test.
One of the most iconic things about playing at the Lord’s Cricket Ground is the slope of the field. Players playing for the first time might have a certain impression of the same. It generally takes a certain amount of time for players to get used to the slope. Bowlers are in the game pretty soon. Throw in some grass on the wicket, and overcast conditions above, and it becomes a ‘survival of the fittest’ challenge for the batters! England can very well add Gus Atkinson and Jofra Archer to their line-up in place of Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue. With Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes as the other two seamers, it surely becomes a potent bowling attack. India can opt to make the following changes to the conditions on offer:
Jasprit Bumrah coming in for Prasidh Krishna has to be one of the most obvious choices for Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir. However, the pitch will have to be considered. As of now, the tall fast-bowler has proven to be too costly for the visitors and has created minimal impact. He has given away 341 runs and scalped six wickets in the two Tests so far. To add to that, his short bowling strategies haven’t worked in favour of India. Krishna hasn’t been able to keep the batters quiet, and India cannot afford to leak runs from one end. Hence, Bumrah coming in has to be at the cost of Prasidh Krishna.
This cannot be neglected as a possibility. The wicket at Lord’s has assisted pacers more than spinners, due to its nature. The Englishmen have more often than not preferred to keep grass over the wicket, helping it assist the speedsters. If it is anywhere close to a green top, India will surely have to think about benching either Ravindra Jadeja or Washington Sundar. The latter being benched is more likely, as Jadeja’s contributions with the bat have proven to be vital in both innings of the second Test. Moreover, the rough patches created by the right-arm fast bowlers do help the left-arm spinner exploit the pitch more favorably. Looking at the number of left-handed batters in England’s setup (Ben Duckett, Ben Stokes, and Jacob Bethell, who might be added), Jadeja seems to come across as the obvious choice.
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The inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav has been doing the rounds since the first Test at Headingley. The chinaman bowler does add a lot of variety and possesses the ability to make the batters do something that they are not comfortable with. However, if India are to opt for the chinaman, they must let go of Washington Sundar. This might dent their batting depth, but batting doesn’t seem to be a problem for the visitors at all. Having said that, this possibility could only come into the picture if the wicket has assistance for spinners. And looking at how things panned out for England in Birmingham, that seems to be a distant possibility.
England are expected to spice it up. Grass on the wickets, Archer and Atkinson in the mix would be the formula for England for the Lord’s Test. As for the Indians, the batters will have to keep taking responsibility. The inclusion of Bumrah will be a very big positive, and Akash Deep’s form will be a huge boost. But whether they can ace the Lord’s Test is what will have to be seen. We are surely in for a thriller!
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