7 reasons why the current Indian squad is struggling outside of the Sub-continent conditions
As the long gruelling India tour of England on its last days, except the T-20 series success, India had lost both ODI and Test series. There is no point about arguing the performance of Indian team. The result speaks for himself. Nobody will remember how close India was on those matches. Everybody will remember that India lost again in foreign soil, particularly outside of the subcontinent. If we cut and analysis the performance it is dejected and hopeless in some areas. So here are the seven particular reasons why India lost again.
1. Only Virat Kohli: Except Captain Virat Kohli, the remaining battling line-up has failed miserably throughout the series. It is not the lack of technique or knowledge, but the lack of courage and guts. The over-reliance on Virat Kohli proved costly, as India deservedly lost the series. Virat Kohli unquestionably silences the critics with his enormous efforts with the bat. However, in conclusion, the whole series defined a case of poor performance of Indian batsmen.
2. Inability to handle the swing: The secret to success in England condition is the ability to manage the swing and seam bowling. Graeme Smith once said that you have to play the ball as late as possible in swinging condition to counter the moving ball. Indeed, it was rightly said. However, perhaps Indian batsmen failed to understand the exact meaning. It was not meant by playing the ball late in front-foot where you don’t have any control about the seam movement. It was meant to say that you have to play the ball in back-foot with the eye should be coordinating with your hands. All Indian batsmen were so tentative to play the seaming ball that they forgot the basic of the batting and thus created a loophole in the batting line-up.
3. Lower order contribution: This is the only difference between England and India that makes all the difference in the series. The Indian bowlers were continuously demolishing English top and middle order frequently. Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Johnny Bairstow, Ben Stokes all failed in the whole series due to the artistic bowling of Indian pacers. However, the real difference made by England lower orders. In the contest of low scoring runs, the lower order contribution is always a bonus for any team. In that series, the England lower contribution is 548 runs, while for India it is mere 227. It not only caused India the series but also pressured the selectors to change the order.
4. Exposed to spin: Unique or not, Indian batsmen not only failed in front of pace attack but also failed in front of spin too. This was very rare that India struggled against the spin big-time. Every time Moeen Ali drafted into the bowling end by Root, Indian batsmen seemed very nervous to face him. Moeen Ali single-handily take nine wickets in the 3rd Test to help England win the match and the series.
5. Frequent change in the line-up: The uncertainty of positions in Team India subsequently chained many batsmen to play their natural game. The constant rotation of players in each test is concerning. India needs to stable and static their line-ups to play each game naturally and get a positive result out of it.
6. Lost crucial moments: Though Indian bowlers gave their best and managed to cripple out most of England’s batting. However, in particular, they failed to deliver in crucial stages in the matches. Like in 4th test, where England were 6/86 in one stage with the lower order in the crease. However, still, England ride on their luck and some lacklustre bowling of Indian bowlers helped them to reach a score of 250. The story was similar in the 1st test too. To win hard fought test match a team need to win crucial moments and India definitely failed to do so.
7. Same old amateurishness: It was not like that this is the first time India travelling outside of the sub-continent. Just a few months ago this same team toured South Africa and lost 1–2, so they already guessed that similar type of conditions would be present in England too. Many of current Team members previously played in England. However, still, they failed to deliver. It shows the evident failure of Indian batting and inability to adapt the different conditions.
Time to rethink the strategy and the ideal line-ups for the foreign conditions is not only a necessary thing for Indian selectors but for team management too. You can’t win a test match in foreign soil just because you have desire and technique. You need to adapt the situations, respect the pitch, grind out the pressure situations and hold your nerve. There isn’t much time to think about the problems. It is time to think about the solutions. Team management needs to do more rather than criticise others.
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