India roared back in style in the 5-match Test series with an emphatic 336-run win over England at Edgbaston. While the visitors showed a lot of character from the heartbreak in Leeds to level the series, the hosts have been left to ponder with a lot of questions. This should act as a rude wake-up call for England and they will look to bounce back in the coming games. For that they have to first know the reasons why they lost this game. Here we will point out three reasons for England’s massive defeat against India.
Top Order Failure and overdependence on Joe Root.Â
It was a run fest on a flat track in Edgbaston but the top order of England wilted under pressure in both the innings. Batting is England’s strength but when put under scoreboard pressure, they crumbled. The top order lost wickets to the new ball in both the innings and left too much to do for the lower middle order. In the first innings, they were 84/5 and then in the second innings they were 83/5 making it really tough to recover.
Yes, in the first innings a remarkable partnership took place between Jamie Smith and Harry Brook of 303 runs to help England recover, but they were always playing catch-up. In the second innings, there was some resistance by the lower middle order but it was just too much to ask from them even to save the game. Plenty of loose shots were played but credit to India for showing their skills and outplaying them.
England are still very dependent on Joe Root. If he performs, the team does really well, but if he has a bad game, they tend to struggle. Joe Root is world’s best batter at the moment but he is human and can have a bad Test match. It is for the other batters to step up if he misses out. While Smith and Brook more than stepped up, the others failed totally.
The top order failure was also due to Root but this overdependence needs to be reduced from England’s point of view. Root scored 22 & 6 in this Test match. He will bounce back for sure, but England depends a lot on him. The others need to be more consistent.
Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj proves too hot to handle for England.Â
Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj were too hot to handle for England in this Test. They made the new ball count and bowled better than their English counterparts. They bowled right lines and lengths and did not allow England to play their game. Akash Deep is an ideal kind of bowler for English conditions and he showcased his skills with the nip backer and the way he got rid of Joe Root and Ben Duckett was a sight to behold.
Siraj is a hit the deck bowler and has the height to get extra bounce off the deck. He used his skills and experience to bamboozle England. Siraj got 6 wickets in the first innings and 1 in the second innings to finish with 7 in the match while Akash Deep got 4 in the first innings and 6 wickets in the second innings to complete his 10-wicket haul in the match. The duo picked up 17 off the 20 wickets. They made the new ball talk.
In the first innings, they picked up 3 early wickets and had England at 25/3 and 84/5 later making the new ball count. They made the second new ball count as well by picking up 5/20 to keep England down to 407 after the hosts were 387/5 at one stage courtesy the 303-run stand between Jamie Smith and Harry Brook. The duo shared all the 10 wickets in the first innings while in the second, Akash picked up 6 and the rest took one apiece. India made the new ball count much better than their English counterparts.
The inability to deal with Akash Deep and Siraj’s incisive bowling cost England a lot and they will have to come up with better plans in the next Test match to regain momentum.
Underestimating Shubman Gill.Â
The third and most important reason was England undermining Shubman Gill and bowling badly to him. The Indian captain was ready to pounce and make the most of the batting friendly conditions. It will be safe to say that Shubman through his batting single-handedly out batted and forced England on the mat. There were no real plans to him.
In the first innings, Gill scored 269 off 387 balls becoming the first Indian captain to register a double century on English soil. He literally played a chanceless knock and tore apart the English bowling which was average at best. The conditions did not help the bowlers, but this innings was masterful to say the least. His 269 gave India a total of 587 in the first innings.
In the second innings, he drove home the advantage by scoring another hundred and joining an elite list of players who have achieved a double ton and century on the same match. He completed 150 as well and got out in the end for 161 off 162 balls scoring 430 runs in two innings at Edgbaston.
This is the second highest aggregate individual score after Graham Gooch’s 454 runs at Lord’s in 1990 against India. No matter which bowler came he was not spared and Gill in both the innings got himself out as he was tired and India needed quick runs as well.
England needs to have concrete plans against Gill in order to stop him. The current bowling line-up does not have it in them to dismiss Gill cheaply. But they have Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson available for the third Test. Should they play at Lord’s, the line-up in the bowling department will be different.
Maybe Archer could be the man to dismiss Gill early as he has done it before in the IPL. The bowling has been an issue for England in this series so far, and they must address those shortcomings as soon as possible to bounce back from this heavy loss.
What Lies Ahead
With India roaring back in Edgbaston, the series is beautifully set up with the score reading 1-1 with 3 matches left. This is just what the doctor ordered for both teams. The caravan moves to Lord’s in London for the 3rd Test starting on July 10th i.e. Thursday. The Home of Cricket is ready to welcome the teams and it will be interesting to see the composition of both sides.
Can England bounce back from this loss and take the lead once again in Lord’s? Or will India ride on the momentum they have got in this game and drive it home to take a lead in the series? Only time will tell as both teams will be geared up for the contest with a new-look bowling attack. Let’s see how things unfold when we reach Lord’s for the third Test starting in a few days.
Also Read: ENG vs IND : Marcus Trescothick Gives A Hint About England’s Approach On Day 5