Follow UsIndia went with three all-rounders and three frontline seamers in the second Test against England at Edgbaston. The decision was made to provide more batting depth after two lower-order collapses in the first Test. The combination worked well, as Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, who batted in the lower middle order, scored a combined 212 runs across both innings.
India were expected to play left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test, but captain Shubman Gill revealed at the toss that the management had opted for Washington instead, to strengthen the batting. The decision proved fruitful as India registered a series-levelling and record-breaking 336-run win in Birmingham.
India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the second Test but is set to return at Lord’s, with Prasidh Krishna likely to make way. India also have the option of leaving out Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington to include Kuldeep in the third Test, which begins on July 10 (Thursday). India vice-captain Rishabh Pant said it’s a possibility, but the final decision will be made just before the toss.
“Options are still open; discussions are ongoing. Sometimes the wicket changes colour in two days. We will take the call—whether it will be 3+1 or 3+2,” said Pant, who has been in outstanding form with the bat in this five-match series.
Speaking about his rapport with captain Shubman Gill, who has already amassed 585 runs in four innings at an average of 146.25, Pant said, “When you have good camaraderie off the field, communication is better on the ground.”
The surfaces in the first two Tests were super batting-friendly, but that might not be the case at Lord's. England failed to outbat India in the second Test, and it could be one of the reasons why the pitch at Lord's will have something for the bowlers.
"See, as a team, generally, what we plan is to play according to the conditions given to us. We don’t want to think about what the opposition is thinking - whether they are changing their plans or not. Whatever they’re doing, we’ll do our best and do better from there. Simple," said Pant.
"The discussion was that England will give us better wickets because the kind of cricket that they play. So for us, the mantra was to get 20 wickets on these batting-friendly wickets. That was already planned.
"Eventually, our batters have to step up because we don't have two of our senior players too. Like I said, it's an opportunity to step up and people are slowly doing that. Eventually, we might do even better as a team."