India series win: What changed between Hyderabad and Dharamsala?

A series that began on 25th January finally concluded on the 9th March. Even though every Test ended within four days, it was a marathon series. Many things happened, and we excuse you if you don’t remember everything. We have got you covered in this space, discussing what changed for both sides between the first and the last Test, which also dictated the series' outcome. 

Axar out, Kuldeep in?

The framework of India’s first-choice three-man spin bowling attack has changed over the course of this series. The hosts started in Hyderabad with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav on the bench.

Axar and Kuldeep have swapped positions by the end of the Dharamsala Test where Kuldeep won the player-of-the-match award for his game, turning 5/72 in the first innings. 

Kuldeep didn’t play any Test cricket in 2023, as India preferred Axar. The reasoning was the batting depth provided by Axar’s inclusion, who had a batting average of 36.6 at the start of this series. 

However, when Jadeja was supposed to return in Rajkot, India took the brave call of retaining Kuldeep in the XI at the expense of Axar’s bowling form which has faded over the past 12 months.

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It turned out to be a significant call. 

Kuldeep emerged as one of India’s strike bowlers. The England batters kept guessing off the pitch which way will the ball turn throughout the series. Kuldeep bagged 19 wickets at 20.2 runs apiece, the second-best average among both sides (minimum five wickets). 

In fact, it's his control over his line and length and the turn on the ball as a wrist spinner that pitches him as a potential successor to Ashwin. His case was also pushed by how Kuldeep showed his aptitude to fight it out with the bat. Axar, meanwhile, will have to add more tricks up his sleeves as a red-ball bowler. 

India gathering first innings runs

After the defeat in the first Test, Rahul Dravid, India’s head coach, stated that they left out some runs in the first innings. The Indian batters didn’t respond well in Visakhapatnam. On Day 1, India had only the second instance where number three to six batters were dismissed for a 25+ score without converting a single one to a 50+ score. In these two games, India slumped from 356/5 to 436 all out and 301/4 to 396 all out. 

In the third and fourth Tests, however, India recovered from precarious situations and stayed in the game. Hundreds from Rohit Sharma and Jadeja in Rajkot carried India from 33/3 to 445. In Ranchi, Dhruv Jurel’s 90 lifted the hosts from 177/7 to 307. 

Dharamsala again brought the concerns back as a mini-collapse restricted India’s first innings total to 477 after being 275/1 at one point. But that proved enough for an innings victory. 

Overall, by the end of the series, India were able to tick a lot of boxes, with nearly every batter putting their hand up at some point. 

Shubman Gill overcame the scarcity of runs in the first innings with a hundred in the fifth Test. It came alongside Rohit’s 103, who had batted well in the series with only one hundred against his name before the final Test. 

Also read - Rohit, Shubman and the medley of power, patience and aesthetics

Yashasvi Jaiswal had a record-breaking series, and each of Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal and Jurel played crucial knocks under pressure. 

Having said that, Shreyas Iyer and KS Bharat, who started the series, may have dropped in the pecking order. 

What would England’s middle order look like in future?

The contrasting performance of the two middle orders played a big part in the 4-1 outcome in the series. India’s middle-order (number three to number six) averaged 39.4 as compared to England’s 27.8 - creating a difference of approximately 50 runs on average. 

That was when England had Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes (327 Tests between them at the start of the series) playing all five Tests, and India had three debutants occupying those positions. 

Post his 196 in Hyderabad, Ollie Pope managed only 118 runs in eight innings, averaging 14.6 in the last four Tests. Stokes averaged only 20.9 in the series. Bairstow looked promising in every Test but couldn’t convert his 30s into a relevant score and had a top score of only 39. Similarly, the opener Zak Crawley thrice got into the 70s but didn’t covert anything into a hundred, settling with a top score of 79. 

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England can have a different middle order the next time they play a Test match in their home summer. Harry Brook missed this series for personal reasons, but England’s poor batting show may soon bring him back in the XI, with either Pope or Bairstow facing the axe. The 196 in Hyderabad may give a longer rope to Pope. 

Better late than never, Ashwin

Ashwin in first seven innings: 12/466, 38.8 runs per wicket

Ashwin in the last three innings: 14/179, 12.8 runs per wicket

India’s premier off-spinner had an innocuous start to the series. When Ben Duckett scored 153 in Rajkot, there were conversations that the left-hander has won over his demons against the off-spinner who dismissed him three times in three innings in 2016. But that is when the 37-year old turned the tables. Ashwin fetched Duckett twice in the next three innings, pulling back the match-up in his favor, pocketing the England opener four times for 64 runs across these five Tests.

Ashwin also highlighted his importance with the new ball. In the last three innings, Ashwin took the new ball twice and fetched a five-for on both occasions. Overall, on the three occasions when he took the new ball in the series, the finger-spinner picked 13 wickets for 254 runs at 19.5 runs per wicket.