Where to start? What to make of India’s nightmarish performance with the ball in the ongoing Old Trafford Test? Where did it go wrong for the visiting side? Many such questions kept echoing in the mind as England mercilessly piled on the runs on Day 2 and Day 3.
The reasons for India’s listless show can be broadly divided into different parts – Relating to skills required for the prevailing conditions, lack of bowling smarts and not being able to maintain intensity levels for long periods.
Just delve deeper into the tactical part, and you would start to wonder why didn’t Jasprit Bumrah bowl more from the Brian Statham End on Day 2? At that juncture of the match, it was quite evident that the Statham End was offering more uneven bounce and movement for the pace bowlers. He rectified that mistake on Day 3, but by then England were already in the ascendancy. Intriguingly, the coaching staff didn’t point it out either.
Stuart Broad on Sky Sports said, “Makes no sense to be honest (on Bumrah not bowling from the Statham End on Day 2), I think that was a tactical mistake from Shubman Gill and the Indian group.”
Another perplexing thought of India’s effort was that they didn’t experiment much when the conditions became easier for batting. Enough bouncers weren’t hurled at the England openers, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, or Ben Stokes. As per cricviz’s data, England employed 51 short deliveries and took two wickets. Until the fag end of the day, when the Indian seamers ushered in a few bumpers, they very rarely used that template.
India didn’t tinker the field a great deal for their pace bowlers either. For example, using straight fields like having a man at silly mid-on or a leg slip behind the wicket could have come in handy.
It also doesn’t seem to make much sense that the Indian management gave the new ball to Bumrah and Anshul Kamboj. The latter was playing in his first Test and would have had a few butterflies in his stomach. It wasn’t exactly a head-scratching moment to witness Kamboj bowling too straight or too full. Ideally, Mohammed Siraj, the experienced fast bowler, should have been Bumrah’s partner-in-crime.
Even Bumrah couldn’t find his mojo in that one hour of play just before tea. At that stage, there was still some movement on offer. Unfortunately, when the Tea break was taken, England had raced away to 77 for 0 in a mere 14 overs.
Now, if you zoom your lenses on Kamboj, it was crystal clear that he mostly operated at around 75-80mph and didn’t get any nip. His fastest delivery was close to 85mph, but he couldn’t summon such speeds long enough. Even in the Ranji Trophy, Kamboj has had a tendency to lose pace during his later spells. Perhaps he needs to work on his fitness, and that could help him to bowl at a certain speed for longer periods.
Even Bumrah, the spearhead, has come under some fire for not being able to bowl with sustained vigour over back-to-back Test matches. But it has to be said that he reportedly tripped on the stairs on day 3 while returning from a break. And he might have picked up a niggle. His bowling mechanics are also such that he may not have a lengthy career. In that context, the Indian backroom staff has to look at how to manage his workload in an optimal manner.
The narrative surrounding India’s uninspiring performance could also be due to how the taller England pacemen found more life out of the surface. This theory would be put to further test in England’s second innings, when they have the chance to pound the cracks time and again and accentuate the effect of it.
Among the spinners, Washington Sundar once more imparted enough drift and engineered a mini collapse by taking two wickets. Although a question arises as to why he wasn’t brought earlier into the attack? The valid reason could be he hurt his bowling arm after being hit by Brydon Carse while batting.
Ravindra Jadeja, the other spinner, continued to bowl quick through the air – sometimes at over 100 kph. In typical subcontinental conditions, with his ability to extract turn off the deck at pace, Jadeja is a different kettle of fish. However, in unfamiliar climes, his inability to beat the batter in the air has kind of negated his threat.
Last but not the least, the shoulders of the fielders seemed to have drooped too early in the game. Sitting on a sofa, it is perhaps not right to comment as an outsider, but India couldn’t maintain their energy levels.
On a macro-level, India have a lot of things to ponder upon – The pace bowlers coming through the ranks are either raw or injury-prone. The batting unit has shown some promise in the ongoing series, but at crunch moments, they have flattered to deceive. Hopefully, from an Indian perspective, we will get to see some light at the end of what seems like a never-ending tunnel of darkness in Test cricket.