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Indian Express
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘Jadeja can't be effective in England': India must be willing to lose matches and change spin mindset, says Brad Haddin
Former Australia wicket-keeper Brad Haddin questioned the role of Ravindra Jadeja as the lead spinner in India's Test line-up in England after his underwhelming performance in the first Test defeat at Headingley earlier this week. With wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav sitting out, Jadeja played as the sole spin option and was marked to play a key holding role against the Englishmen. However, Jadeja failed to induce any pressure until late on day five when the ball occasionally spun from the footholes. As England gunned down 350 of the 371-run target on the final day, the 36-year-old left-arm spinner conceded 104 runs in 24 overs at 4.33 for a solitary wicket. Haddin reckoned that the declining all-rounder was not India's most effective spin option in the conditions and said Jadeja could, at best, play a supporting role as the second spinner abroad. 'Are we seeing the decline of Ravindra Jadeja? I mean yes, he is effective in Indian conditions and how hard it is to play left-arm spin in India, but I don't think he is the best option to have in the team spin wise,' Haddin said on the Willow Talk podcast. With veteran Ashwin retired and Jadeja's overseas performances on the wane, Haddin said India must be look at more attacking tweakers and be willing to sacrifice a few matches to unearth new heroes. 'I don't think Jadeja can be effective. Yes, he is good all-rounder and he could play as a second spinner – hold at the other end. But I think they need to be more attacking, be willing to lose a Test match with some inexperienced bowlers but change their mindset at the way they go about it,' Haddin added. Haddin also suggested that India must rope in left arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav into the XI alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy to reduce the impact of benching Jadeja. 'I would look at Kuldeep. Someone who is an attacking spinner, who can get wickets. You've got a couple of hold-in bowlers. Siraj can play that role, but I think they need to be a bit more bold in their selection of bowlers,' he said. 'If Reddy plays, then you don't have to play Jadeja and bring the attacking spin option. I think that's one thing they've got to look at, especially away from home,' he added. Former England batter Mark Butcher had lambasted Jadeja's bowling after the first Test. 'I could not believe how poorly Jadeja bowled, really,' said Mark Butcher on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast. 'I'd likened it to owning a hammer but punching nails in with your fist instead – not landing the ball in the rough at all until, basically, it was too late. That was extraordinary, really. 'You talk about experience, and Jadeja has all the experience in the world. Somehow, it didn't seem to click to him or Rishabh Pant, the keeper, that it might be a good idea not to keep missing the rough all day to the left-handers,' he added after Jadeja's match figures read 47 overs, 172 runs and one wicket.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Major lesson for India from Headingley reverse — bat big and long
To realise how much of an anomaly the result in India's opening Test against England in Leeds was, consider this — it was the first time in its cricketing history that India tasted defeat after batting first and scoring 350 or more in each innings. There were costly dropped catches and there was also the inability of its bowling line-up — sans Jasprit Bumrah — to take wickets. But one of the biggest learnings from the contest for India is that batting big and batting long are prerequisites to beat this English side, especially on wickets that are far from the traditional ones we are used to in the Old Blighty. In a way, it is a new reality for India. Both under Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the zeal to take 20 wickets assumed priority over scoring a mountain of runs. At home, pitches became spicy, and batters did not always have the best conditions to showcase their skills. Overseas, where the pacers got more purchase, India only augmented its batting resources slightly, with efficient, but not-so-spectacularly talented, all-rounders. In both scenarios, the presence of a world-class bowling attack meant India needed minimum runs to work with. But in England this summer, the nature of the pitches and an undercooked Indian bowling roster has meant that there is pressure on the batters to deliver big and allow a freshly developing bowling attack more margin for error. Mohammed Shami is not available. Bumrah will play only two of the remaining four Tests and it's anybody's guess which will be those. The responsibility on the batters is thus immense. India has certainly begun well, with four of the top-five scoring hundreds and there being five centuries in all. Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul and Rishabh Pant (twice) coming up with tone-setting knocks at the beginning of a long series is welcome news. Shubman Gill scoring a ton in his debut innings as captain was a big plus, something coach Gautam Gambhir described as 'phenomenal.' However, more runs from lower middle-order and tail will be welcome. The India No. 7 to 11 batters made just 45 runs both innings combined as against the 112 the Englishmen accounted for in the first essay alone. Out of the 20 wickets India lost, 11 batters were dismissed for single-digit scores. England had just three out of 15. Does this mean that India should shore up its batting at the cost of wicket-taking bowlers in the second Test that begins in Edgbaston here from July 2? Maybe not. Perhaps the better thing to do is to ask for better decision-making from those selected. Gambhir denied that there was a lack of application in the opening Test, saying that 'it's not that they are not working hard' and that 'even pure batters fail.' But Shardul Thakur's reckless batting in both innings — at the stroke of lunch on day two and with just over an hour left for close on day four — is evidence to the contrary. And by Gambhir's own admission, he was picked for his all-round skills and not as a specialist bowler. 'We were always in the game from day one to day five,' Gambhir insisted after the Headingley reverse. 'If the conditions remain the same, we will definitely be in play in the next Test.' But unless India seizes the moment, it will not amount to much.
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First Post
a day ago
- Sport
- First Post
Former India cricketer slams Gill's leadership after Headingley defeat: 'Kohli would not have...'
Shubman Gill faced criticism for being too defensive a leader on debut as India Test captain, with the visitors suffering a five-wicket defeat against England at Headingley despite finding themselves in a dominant position more than once. read more Shubman Gill's leadership style has been compared with Virat Kohli since the first Test against England in Leeds, in which the former led India for the first time in the red-ball format. Reuters/AP Newly-appointed India Test captain Shubman Gill has come under fire for his leadership and tactics during the first Test against England at Headingley, which the visiting team ended up losing by five wickets. India ended up conceding the series lead to the Ben Stokes-led hosts despite four of their batters, including the skipper, accounting of five centuries and star pacer Jasprit Bumrah collecting the only five-wicket haul of the match. While there are multiple reasons for India failing to win the Headingley Test despite finding themselves in a dominant position more than once, including and especially their twin batting collapses, there are those who also believe Gill's defensive style of captaincy is also to blame. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Manjrekar compares Gill with Kohli after Headingley defeat And the 25-year-old is already getting compared to Virat Kohli, India's most successful Test captain and one of the game's most celebrated figures, despite having led India in just one Test so far. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, for one, felt that India would have targeted getting the Englishmen bowled out by tea on the final day had Kohli been in charge at Headingley. 'Most people felt Shubman Gill went too defensive. But I think he was trying to trap England by cutting off boundaries, hoping the wickets would come eventually,' Manjrekar said on JioHotstar following India's defeat in Leeds. 'I hate to bring Virat Kohli as a comparison, as Shubman Gill is a young captain, but he would not have put such a defensive field. That's different from someone like Virat Kohli, who might say: We have enough runs, I'll get you all out before Tea. Whether he would have gotten wickets with an attacking field is not guaranteed, but he would have been at it. 'Gill doesn't have the same seam attack as England-though they don't have Bumrah but English team has more all-round options. Even with Jadeja, I felt India should've started with a standard field rather than pre-empting reverse sweeps. You want to start with attacking intent-even if only for a few overs-before going defensive. That said, I don't want to be overly critical of Shubman. He's a new captain, and we should be understanding of that,' he added. India will be eyeing a series-leveling win without Jasprit Bumrah, who will not be playing more than three matches in the ongoing series, in the second Test that gets underway at Edgbaston in Birmingham on 2 July.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
8 of 9 batsmen in multiple successful 350+ Test chases all-time are Englishmen – list includes Pope, Woakes, Stokes and Root
Only 14 times has a 350 target been chased down in Test cricket history. And 8 of Baz McCullum's 'ballers feature in the list of batsmen who have achieved this multiple times (more than once). According to MensXP website, 9 batsmen have been involved in successful chases over 350, and 8 of them are Englishmen or recent vintage, specifically Bazballers. Sri Lankan Upul Tharanga is the only non-Englishman among these buccaneers, who have ensured that no matter how many their bowlers concede and set them stiff targets, England will back themselves to get there. Captain Ben Stokes and Joe Root have been involved in 3 such chases of over 350, says MensXP India. Besides the recent Headingley one against India, Root had combined with Jonny Bairstow for twin centuries at Birmingham on the last Tour. In the third instance, he was part of the English team that chased 359 and won by a wicket against Australia, after a Ben Stokes century in the target pursuit in 2019. In that Ashes game, England were in dire straits after being shot out for 67 in the first innings. But MensXP India quotes two other contemporary Englishmen as being part of 2 such successful 350+ chases – Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope (who also scored a ton at Leeds). The others to have managed it in recent past are Jack Leach, Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow, twice each, making it 8 out 9 members of England sides. High strike-rates, greater RPOs and unbridled shotmaking might be the other indicators – and Rishabh Pant and Yashsvi Jaiswal might well fit those criterion, but true Bazballing is at its pinnacle only when their batting lineups can assail tall targets in the 4th innings, in this case over 350. Upul Tharanga managed it twice for Sri Lankan wins at Premadasa 2017 chasing 388, against Zimbabwe and at Sara Oval 2006 against Siuth Africa getting to 352. Of the 37 times 300+ have been chased, England have managed it 6 times, with Bazballers also thrice chasing over 270 (to 299) against New Zealand in 2022. Australia against whom the two highest chases have been registered, (418 vs WI in 2003 & 414 vs SA in 2008) have chased down 300+ 9 times, and also lost defending it 9 times. They are joint top 350+ chasers alongside England (3 times). West Indies, SL have done it twice, while India, South Africa and Pakistan once each of the 14 occasions. Live by sword also implies die by sword, and opposition spinners are crucial in denying England 350+ targets in Bazball era. England could not chase down NZ's 658 with pacers & Santner pulling them back in recent years. Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin denied them 399 target at Vizag last time they visited, and Ravindra Jadeja did same for 557 at Rajkot. In an earlier tour in 2021-22, they couldn't chase 482 at Chennai. India have chased 300+ thrice and had opponents chase 300+ as many times (3-3). Pakistan have chased 300+ four times (4-3), and allowed opponents to get to that target thrice. Newly crowned WTC champs South Africa have chased 300+ twice (2-5) and 350+ once, but conceded 300+ in 4th innings five times for defeats. New Zealand have never chased 350+ for a Test win in 4th innings, but done 300+ twice. They have never ceded 350+ to opponents either in a chase, but twice for over 300 (2-2). Sri Lanka have a bold past, chasing 300+ four times, and allowing opponents to assail it only thrice (4-3).
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG, 2nd Test: With Jasprit Bumrah set to miss Edgbaston, who will India turn to?
Jasprit Bumrah, by far India's most wicket-taking option, is all set to miss the second Test of the India vs England Test series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, as reported by The Indian Express earlier on Thursday. And India will have to think quick to come up with a plan – although they have known for a while that Bumrah wouldn't be available for all five matches. After bowling 44 overs at Headingley, in all probability the pacer will sit out for the second Test at Edgbaston. He is expected to return for the third Test at the home of cricket in London on July 10. India's limited options in Bumrah's imminent absence for the Edgbaston Test next comprise a right-arm pacer returning from injury, an untested left-arm seamer, and a left-field but in-form wrist-spin option. Right arm Fast Medium Tests: 7; Wickets: 15 First Class matches: 38; Wickets:128 Akash Deep's efficiently repeatable skill set could offer India an immediate solution for certain inconsistencies with the Dukes ball. His ability to generate nippy movement off length can keep the English top-order guessing, assisted by his characteristic wrist snap. The Bengal seamer is also comfortable putting the wobble seam to effect when veering away from his natural straight-seam grip deliveries. While the challenge will be to keep deliveries fuller, Akash's control over lengths will be of particular interest. Left arm Medium Fast First Class matches: 21; Wickets: 66 Yet to make his Test debut, Arshdeep Singh brings the left-arm angle to India's pace attack in England for the first time in 14 years. Still young in terms of red-ball experience, Arshdeep's ability to produce late swing and movement can keep him in contention for a new-ball role with a compromise on pace. Left arm Wrist spin Tests: 13; Wickets: 56 First Class: 43; Wickets: 164 A left-field option to replace India's pace spearhead would be Kuldeep Yadav. The spinner brings sheer wicket-taking qualities to the field, even on relatively flatter decks. Difficult to read at the top of his mark, the wristie who last played in England seven years ago (a forgettable Lord's outing) can impose a sharper challenge on the sweep shots employed by the Englishmen while relying on his recent overspin upgrade and bounce to test the bat edges.
