Final chance for England to break free against cavalier India

England has been outplayed in the series so far.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

In early January, Indian cricket was in doldrums. The Test team had just lost its second straight series (1-3 away to Australia after 0-3 to New Zealand at home); its premier batters were woefully out of form and its best bowlers had ominous-sounding fitness concerns.

But just over five weeks since then, across seven limited-overs internationals and a smattering of domestic cricket matches, those despondent times seem too far long in the past. Late on Tuesday, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of next week’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Yet, it is not all gloomy.

India beat England 4-1 in the T20Is and holds a 2-0 lead going into Wednesday’s third and final ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium here. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are back among the runs and speed merchant Mohammed Shami is fully fit. If Virat Kohli regains his touch, the turnaround will be complete.

With the series in the bag, it remains to be seen if head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma choose to give game time to those who have got none this series – Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar. But what augurs well is the fact that whenever they have tried to mix it up, they have hit bull’s eye.

The addition of Varun Chakaravarthy has lent a cutting-edge to an already potent spin-bowling line-up featuring Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. The variety on offer has stifled England, which despite choosing to bat first in both games, has found run-making hard.

Harshit Rana, who has been zeroed in as Bumrah’s replacement, has had a crazy two and a half months, having made his debut in all three formats. Though profligate, the think-tank appears to trust his wicket-taking ability, an invaluable skill that Bumrah’s absence has robbed the team of.

For England, this will be the last chance to tick a few boxes if it hopes to avoid at the Champions Trophy a repeat of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023 when it finished seventh in a 10-team event.

In the two matches so far, its bowling has been largely one-dimensional – express pace with negligible variations. The otherwise explosive batting unit has made middling totals – by modern-day batting standards – and Jos Buttler has only been able to marvel at the free-spiritedness with which the Men in Blue have batted.

That style was once patented by England, and something its current all-format coach Brendon McCullum swears by. And to reproduce it, the side has to find answers to India’s middle-overs riddles.

So well-rounded is the Indian bowling front – despite Bumrah’s absence – that one can barely ease off. It’s the kind of challenge not many sides present and if Buttler & Co. can serve it up hot on what is expected to be a warm and sunny day, it will be the best possible preparation ahead of its Champions Trophy opener against Australia.

The teams (from):India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Shubman Gill (Vice-capt.), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy.

England: Jos Buttler (Capt.), Harry Brook (Vice-capt.), Phil Salt (wk), Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse and Tom Banton.

Match officials: Umpires: Sharfuddoula Saikat & Virender Sharma; Third umpire: Chris Brown; Match referee: Javagal Srinath.

Match starts at 1.30 p.m.