Related Link : India’s tour of England
As if the news of Steve Harmison getting ruled out of the npower Test Series wasn’t enough to boost the morale of the Indians, there is a fresh blow to the homeside in the form of Matthew Hoggard. The swing bowler has been ruled out of the opening Test at Lord’s because of back spasms. That now leaves the English pace attack with Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson and the pair of Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett who are yet to make their Test Debut! Although Monty Panesar, the latest bowling sensation is still there, India would be more than confident going against this thin bowling attack in the series opener.
One heck of an opportunity for India
This is one heck of an opportunity for the star studded Indian batting line up to take advantage of and increase the chances of winning a series here after 1986. Lord’s usually has been helpful for batsmen unless overcast conditions have a say in the day’s play. With an inexperienced bowling attack against them, the senior batsmen of India will have to go for the big runs. India might be looking to bat first if they win the toss and look to pile up a huge first innings score. They will be wary of the fact that the England batting line up is quite capable of posting a big total as well which can give the cushion to their young bowlers.
Indian teams in the past however strong they might have been have always played outside the sub continent. There was a lot of dependence on Sachin Tendulkar a few years back but since 2000 there have been plenty of other batsmen who can be counted to deliver the goods. The Skipper Rahul Dravid as always holds the key with his wonderful technique that enforces a lot of steadiness in the batting and same is the case with Sachin Tendulkar, another technically sound batsman. Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman add their flamboyance to the middle order. It looks most likely that these four batsmen would form the middle order. It is unlikely that Yuvraj Singh will break into the side.
The worries for the tourists will be at the top with Wasim Jaffer not showing much confidence in the side games. But he will be persisted with to partner Dinesh Karthik. If India play the four bowlers, then Mahendra Singh Dhoni might find a place and has to because of his brilliant ability to counter attack. His 76 against England Lions came at the right time but you never know as Dinesh Karthik seems to be the current favourite to don the roles of both opener and keeper! Once the new ball is seen off by Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik, things will be very easy for the strong middle order. Wasim Jaffer as such is very lucky that he wouldn’t have to face the late swing of Hoggard with the brand new cherry.
There has been a spark of aggression in the recent Indian bowling attacks. A few years back, Srinath and Prasad would have bowled probing opening spells but the opposition will come out of any trouble because India had lacked a quality third pacer. Now the pace attack for Lord’s is mostly going to be Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and RP Singh. Zaheer Khan had a great county season last year and has been very consistent in bowling the right areas in the last few series. Sreesanth and RP Singh have the right techniques to swing and seam the ball. What they have to do is to adjust to the slope of the Lord’s wicket which will take some time! During the initial stages of his career, Anil Kumble was struggling to get wickets outside the sub continent. But as years have gone by, he has developed himself into a class act everywhere in the world. His subtle changes in the flight, pace and the top spinners, googlies will be important to break partnerships in the middle overs and also keep the scoring rate down.
India (Likely XI) : Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar (Vice-Captain), Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicket Keeper), Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh
England batting needs to stand up
Going with a depleted bowling attack which doesn’t have Harmy, Freddie and Hoggy, the onus is now on the batting line-up to come to England’s rescue. Captain Michael Vaughan had a fantastic series against the Indians the last time in 2002 and he will have to be the chief architect of the English innings. The surprise package that England have is Alastair Cook, who has achieved a lot of success in very short time at the International level. Then there is the threat of Kevin Pietersen for the Indian bowlers. A man who can shatter the confidence of any bowler with his pyrotechniques. Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood will be the steadying factors while wicket keeper batsman Matthew Prior like Cook will be another surprise weapon. Along with all these batsmen, there is Andrew Strauss looking to get back to top form at the international level.
I suspect Monty Panesar will have to bowl plenty of overs in this series. It will be a great learning curve for the English Turbanator bowling to the best players of spin bowling. Monty could create batting collapses against West Indies and other teams but can he manage to do that against India? That is a tough one for Monty indeed. Ryan Sidebottom will have to lead the bowling attack with a good opening spell. The rest of the guys, two out of these three – James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett will be forming the pace trio for Lord’s. Tremlett could be the one who could miss out most probably. The pace attack is quite inexperienced obviously but then any seamer with a sharp pace who can hit the right areas in English conditions will reap awards, so that is the hope that England will be carrying.
I have a feeling that this Test Match at Lord’s could be a high scoring draw with the track traditionally being good for batsmen! Out of the last four Test matches played at this Mecca of World Cricket, three of them have ended as draws! So does this Lord’s wicket for the first Test Match between England and India has the spice and life to force a result??
England (Likely XI) : Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan (Captain), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matthew Prior (Wicket Keeper), Stuart Broad, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom