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India Today
7 hours ago
- Sport
- India Today
ENG vs IND: Without Jasprit Bumrah, can India win a Test in Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy?
Back in the early '90s, television sets across India would flicker off the moment Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed. Such is the hold Jasprit Bumrah now exerts over the Indian Test team. It's been 'Bumrah or bust' for a side staring down the barrel of transition sooner than the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia in 2024-25, it was, for the most part, Bumrah against the Aussies over five grinding Tests. And when he broke down in the final clash, India's hopes of salvaging the series vanished with to June, and Indian cricket fans' worst fears are beginning to stir. Bumrah is set to miss the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England. Despite piling up over 800 runs in the opener at Leeds-and with Bumrah snaring a five-for-India still lost. Now, with a Bazballing England looming in Birmingham, the prospect of facing them without their spearhead is unnerving, to say the least. If reports are accurate, Bumrah, originally signed up for just three of the five Tests, will sit out the Edgbaston clash-even with a week's break between the games. India, after all, must protect its Kohinoor. It's about workload management now for arguably the world's best fast bowler, one with a history of fragility. After all, he has bowled 1,482 overs since his debut-the most by any Indian bowler in that span, by a country Friday, India trained for over four hours at Edgbaston. Bumrah was present but didn't bowl. Though not officially ruled out, all signs point to his absence: a clear pivot in training towards other seamers ahead of the Birmingham since the Border-Gavaskar series of 2021 has one player's availability overshadowed all other subplots. Then, the question was how India would cope without Virat Kohli, available for only one of five Tests. Now, it's whether they can survive two without Bumrah-especially after the gutting loss in the series that brings us to the core question: can India win an overseas Test without Jasprit Bumrah? While many cricket romantics would swiftly say no, pointing to the glaring overdependence exposed at Headingley, let's turn to the numbers before India take the field at first, a quick detour: Did India err in openly declaring that Bumrah would play only three of the five Tests? Even if pre-planned, why hand England the tactical edge on a silver platter? There's no Mohammed Shami. Mohammed Siraj looks out of rhythm. And the rest of the pace group haven't bowled a single Test over in FRONTLINE PACERS WITHOUT BUMRAHMohammed Siraj - 37 TestsadvertisementAkash Deep - 7 TestsPrasidh Krishna - 4 TestsArshdeep Singh - Yet to debutRemove Bumrah, and the experience of this young seam group is effectively halved. Siraj is the de facto senior, but his form-particularly in red-ball cricket-has been patchy at best. Akash Deep, despite promise, has mostly played at home. Prasidh was expensive in Leeds, and Arshdeep has yet to earn his reading, isn't it?Bumrah's impact, especially overseas, has been monumental since his red-ball debut in 2018. India have played 26 Tests without him in this time-and won 18. But zoom in on foreign soil, and the numbers dip. Narrow it further to SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia), and the struggle becomes clearer. Since Bumrah's debut, India's overseas wins without him have come only in Bangladesh (2022), the West Indies (thanks largely to R Ashwin's 12-wicket haul on a turning Dominica track in 2023), and the miracle of Gabba in data makes it plain: when Bumrah plays, India win more. advertisementNow consider this: before Bumrah's arrival, India had won just 18 of their 113 overseas Tests in SENA. Post his debut, that win percentage has doubled! Telling, isn't it?India will look to Brisbane 2021 for hope. That epic series finale saw them field a pace attack held together by tape and belief. No Bumrah. No Ashwin. Siraj-just two Tests old-led the line. Navdeep Saini played his second, and T Natarajan, flown in as a net bowler, was handed his debut. And yet, they took 20 wickets. Under Rahane's calm leadership, they rode Sydney's resilience into Brisbane's Birmingham 2024 is no Brisbane aren't playing traditional Test cricket. Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, they've turned chasing 350+ into routine. Don't forget, it was at this very ground in 2022 that England chased down 379-against a Bumrah-led Bumrah is ruled out, you can bet England will gleefully shave off even the slimmest blade of grass from the surface. They'll back their batting muscle and pile pressure on India's raw pace it a foregone conclusion then?Not necessarily-if India get their combination Leeds, India opted for Shardul Thakur as the fifth bowler alongside Jadeja. It was an attacking move, as they picked a bowling all-rounder over Nitish Kumar Reddy. But the selection of Prasidh Krishna-a hit-the-deck bowler-over a natural swing option may have backfired in English Bumrah's absence, India could consider the likes of Akash Deep or Arshdeep Singh-both more attuned to swinging the red Duke ball. Or, they might even throw in Kuldeep Yadav as a second spinners in England? Sounds risky-but not all, cricketing greats like Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly have long preached picking your five best bowlers, not just horses for courses. And consider this: Ashwin took seven wickets at Edgbaston in 2018 in a narrow defeat. And long before him, legendary Shane Warne turned Edgbaston pitches into theatres of slow, spinning torment. Even Nathan Lyon has 20 wickets in three Tests India dare to play both Jadeja and Kuldeep in Birmingham?And if Bumrah is to miss two Tests in this series, what are the ideal venues for his rest?Let's examine the historical balance of spin versus pace at the four remaining grounds-Edgbaston, Lord's, Old Trafford and The Oval. If it's purely a numbers game, Edgbaston and The Oval might seem the best bets to rest him. But even with the data, the picture looks dim for there's room for optimism. As Gautam Gambhir said ahead of the series: "I have said it before during the Champions Trophy [which Bumrah missed and India won] as well-it will give someone the opportunity to put his hand up. We have enough talent there. I know he is quality, but we've got quality beyond him too."India will need belief, bold calls, and a touch of while Jasprit Bumrah might not walk out at Edgbaston, India still must.- Ends
Mint
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Mint
India vs England: What went wrong for India in the last England Test series? Full breakdown
The last time India went to England, the tour was split into two. India were leading 2–1 after four Tests when a Covid-19 outbreak in the team and support staff led to an indefinite postponement of the final Test. It finally took place ten months later, and England came from behind to chase down 378 in the fourth innings. For most of the series, India were in front. But the eventual result was a 2–2 draw. India will look back on it as a missed opportunity. Had they won, they would have held simultaneous away series wins in both Australia and England. For good measure, they later drew 1–1 in South Africa as well. They would have been the first Indian team in history to hold those simultaneous results. However, a breakthrough Bazballing performance from England, led by Jonny Bairstow's twin tons, denied India. India might still have won the series if it weren't for rain in the first Test at Trent Bridge. Led by Jasprit Bumrah's nine-wicket match haul, India were chasing just 209 for victory in the fourth innings and had ended Day 4 on a solid 52 for 1, with both Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara looking confident and at ease. The pitch had gotten easier to bat on as the game progressed, and each innings' score was higher. India was definitely in pole position to win it, but there was no play possible on the fifth day. England had eked out a 37-run first-innings lead at Lord's. They were incensed, however, by Bumrah bowling a few short ones to James Anderson. The fury came out as more empty bravado than productive aggression, with the English bowlers going short to Bumrah and Mohammed Shami for prolonged periods. The result was that India went from 209 for 8 to 298 for 8, at which point Virat Kohli declared. It was shortly after lunch, and Kohli memorably told his bowlers that England should 'feel hell' for 60 overs. The pace foursome of Bumrah, Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Ishant Sharma delivered, as India romped to one of their most famous wins, bowling England out in 51.5 overs. The city of London proved to be a happy hunting ground for India on that trip, with victories at Lord's and The Oval. The series was 1–1 heading into the fourth Test, and India stormed to victory at The Oval, pulling away in the third and fourth innings. Trailing by 99 runs after the first innings, India racked up 466. There were nuggety contributions throughout the order, but the foundation was Rohit Sharma's 127. England were then 100 without loss, but ended up folding for 210 as India's bowlers produced yet another masterclass. In the third Test at Headingley, India won the toss and chose to bat but were rolled over for 78 as England's pacers had their best morning of the series. India had misread the conditions, and that first-innings hole was too steep to climb out of. The second defeat will probably sting more. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja's centuries took India to 416. Then another collective bowling performance gave India a 132-run lead, despite a Bairstow century. India got fewer in the third innings than they looked good for, but still, a target of 378 and five sessions remaining meant they were firm favourites to win the match and the series. That's when the Bazball effect hit them like a whirlwind. England got there in just 76.3 overs, scoring at just under five per over. India was without a Covid-hit Rohit. It was Bumrah's first Test as India captain, and it seemed like it would be a fairytale debut — until it wasn't. What worked for India was hunting in a pack, both while batting and bowling. Naturally, some players performed better than others, but there was a collective contribution that kept India on top. They found individuals to stand up at various key moments. That is, in fact, what wins series, especially away. They are rarely won on the back of one or two men carrying the rest with superlative shows. The series also showed that when Bazball clicks, it can be unstoppable. History has shown that it doesn't always come off — but it might be wise to alter tactics to non-traditional Test match ones if you sense it's a Bazball kind of day: go more defensive, deny runs, and disrupt their rhythm. If India can do these two things well, they could yet come away with the series win that eluded them on the last tour.
