*Official Third Test at Headingley* 25-29 August

[Shri]

Jadeja isn’t a test number six mate

he can play at any spot between 3 and 5 given what we are dealing with atm

actually has a backfoot game and can score square of the wicket without driving at every ball

not a long term solution but given how he is batting atm, **** it. why not

 

[neerajchopra]

jadejas batted well this series tbh.

i dont mind shardul as one of the main seamers though. handy with swing. and okish with the bat. not a massive downgrade, if even a downgrade at all.

jadeja
ashwin
shardul
bumrah
siraj/shami

tailender batting saved us at the gabba and ahmedabad 4th test (And trent bridge and lords also tbh).

 

[Niall]

jadejas batted well this series tbh.

Yeah looking again, a very useful 50 in the first test and a handy knock in the 1st innings of the second test.

That's not bad at all for a guy batting at seven in this batting line up.

 

[silentstriker]

I just don’t follow Kohli’s logic honestly. I don’t think four bowlers will significantly hamper your ability to take 20 wickets, but that extra batsman may give you enough runs to prevent collapses and put the runs on the board. Now if you had an in form Dravid-Tendulkar-Laxman as your middle order, you can go with as few batsmen as you wanted. Here, I think you go with three seamers and you keep using different combos through the series so they don’t play too many back to back. When you’ve got the depth, you might as well use it. You have five seamers in a five game series - each one plays like three Tests. And for a series deciding Test, none of them has been bowled into the ground, so you can have your pick.

And during your bowling, you have Ashwin tying one end down for a long period while rotating the three guys at the other end makes the most sense.

Ffs ashwin is the number two rated bowler in the world. 400 wickets at 24 as a spinner! He can do that job!

I agree with @Burgey that Jadeja makes the most sense at 8. He would be great at supporting an established batsman and scoring runs rather than having to do these jobs with a terrible tail. He can’t even bat to his ability because he knows the guys at the other end won’t even last an over. So he just has to hit out.

 

[Niall]

Vihari is an ok 5th bowler isn't he?

Obviously in an ideal world he is not your fifth bowler, but same level as a Root maybe?

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

For England hope to see Woakes in for Curran in the next Test.

Would also like to see Leach in for Moeen though I can't imagine it's likely to happen. I love Mo but Leach was dropped because Anderson/Broad/Leach/Wood was deemed too weak a tail not because he isn't our best spinner and the tail has strengthened in the meantime.

 

[sunilz]

36/9
68/7
78/10
63/8

This is abysmal batting in last 1 year.?

Congrats England

 

[Spark]

Yeah this is the best I have ever seen Root play over a series. I would not be surprised at all if this series is his pinnacle. He looks invincible.

It's honestly like watching Clarke in 2012 or Sanga at his peak. Not only do you not look like getting him out, not only can you not stop him scoring, but it honestly feels like he is completely dictating the play when in theory it should be the bowlers who do that. Like watching a bloke having an extended net. This is vanishingly rare form he's in right now.

 

[harsh.ag]

And during your bowling, you have Ashwin tying one end down for a long period while rotating the three guys at the other end makes the most sense.

Ffs ashwin is the number two rated bowler in the world. 400 wickets at 24 as a spinner! He can do that job!

I agree with @Burgey that Jadeja makes the most sense at 8. He would be great at supporting an established batsman and scoring runs rather than having to do these jobs with a terrible tail. He can’t even bat to his ability because he knows the guys at the other end won’t even last an over. So he just has to hit out.

Jadeja would be wasted at 8. He is not the kind of batsman who likes hitting out.

Right now, in the series context, he should be promoted to 3. Agreed with more batting required.

Rohit
KL
Jadeja
Kohli
Shaw
SKY
Pant
Ashwin
+3 pacers

Gives India the best chance.

 

[Manee]

What attack in Test history has not been "vulnerable" to a batsman of Root's class and in the sort of form he is in cashing in? Short of 1980s WI bowlers, I really don't quite understand what more you could reasonably expect from what your fast bowlers have delivered in the last four years. I would say the contention that they've mostly played on pitches that are friendly for fast bowlers is mostly untrue; they've played a lot of Tests in India and Australia!

Ok you're right that what I wrote was a bit ridiculous. I think I'm just frustrated with the middle order and taking it out on the bowlers.

 

[Manee]

He’s not a genuine test batsman though, he’s a bowling all rounder. The idea he needs to be promoted is the wrong one, imho. He doesn’t need people to support/ bat with him. He needs to be the bloke supporting a set batsman.

I disagree but I'm sure time will tell. Average of 34.72 is not too shabby and seems to be getting better.

 

[Niall]

Jadeja would be wasted at 8. He is not the kind of batsman who likes hitting out.

Right now, in the series context, he should be promoted to 3. Agreed with more batting required.

Rohit
KL
Jadeja
Kohli
Shaw
SKY
Pant
Ashwin
+3 pacers

Gives India the best chance.

Genuinely perplexed why people have Yadav over Vihari.

Vihari has a monster first class record especially compared to Yadav , much more experience in test cricket and can actually bowl (somewhat).

Not a huge gap age wise either.

What am I missing?

 

[Uppercut]

I think either balance is defensible for India and I’m not sure what I’d go with, but I really don’t think they win at Lord’s without the extra seamer. They all made crucial contributions.

 

[Apex Predator]

Ishant's run up is a serious mess & Kohli has been asked this question in PC as well. His pace & zip is absent. I don't think he will get to play next up.
Ashwin will come in as a VC if Rahane is dropped.. Unlikely but quite possible.

Mayank & SKY should fit in to cash in on a possibly flat oval track.

 

[harsh.ag]

Genuinely perplexed why people have Yadav over Vihari.

Vihari has a monster first class record especially compared to Yadav , much more experience in test cricket and can actually bowl (somewhat).

Not a huge gap age wise either.

What am I missing?

Missing that Vihari had a miserable county stint and the last thing India need is a sure failure

 

[Daemon]

Kohli isn’t going to drop Rahane imo, despite this being the obvious decision.

I think he’ll toy with the idea of a seamer for Ashwin, or Jadeja for Ashwin and Thakur for a seamer.

 

[Arachnodouche]

Just pick Ashwin as your number 8 and send Jadeja ahead of Pant so he has some cushion to "express himself" among decent company before the clowns come in.

 

[honestbharani]

Well that unravelled quick. Still think the fight we showed on days 2 and 3 were good signs for us overall. But obviously when you lose 18/140 in a test, there is hardly any coming back from there.

Gotta pick Ashwin for Ishant. Maybe Shardul for Shami as I am worried about Shami's workload now. Bumrah and Siraj are needed. Hopefully it is a typical Oval wicket which should help our batsmen and our spinners.

I wish I had more good things to say about England but I genuinely think this was a match that we lost than they won. I mean, the first day bowling was very disciplined, tight, good and all that, but there is no way any test team should be getting out for 78 from that bowling. And then when they batted, it was also the worst session of bowling I have seen from this line up in a while - at least post pandemic. Gotta hope both are aberrations and we revert to being better, especially with the ball.

Malan looked very good though. Root continues to be Root. And Hameed looks like he can be a better partner for Burns than Sibley was. Woakes coming back for Curran should be a huge shot in the arm for England as well. Still think we will take the series and also bat lot better in the last two tests. Lets see.

 

[Bijed]

I disagree but I'm sure time will tell. Average of 34.72 is not too shabby and seems to be getting better.

He's been mostly really good in his role for a little while now but I do sort of feel that in the majority of cases when you've got a bowling all-rounder/lower-order batsman making good runs down the order, you need to be happy with what you've got and take an "if it broke, don't fix it", even if the theoretical upside is alluring and/or you feel they're being wasted. Plenty of much more 'proper' batsmen can suddenly look out of their depth when pushed up the order even when everyone thinks they should have the tools to succeed there and in a lot of cases the difference in pressure of expectation, let alone technical ability, can destroy their output.

Plus (and this isn't to belittle what Jadeja has been providing with the bat) lower order contributions always feel just sort of better simply because they feel a bit like bonus runs. Your number 7/8 makes a few 30s and a couple of 50s and you're really pleased. You bump them up to 5 or something, and suddenly you start to notice how often they don't go on with a start.

That said, I'm happy to accept that Jadeja is probaby a better batsman than most of those that normally get talked in these sort of situations. But if we were talking about doing a similar thing for an equivalent English player, I'd be tempering my expectations.

 

[Teja.]

If Rahane makes below 18 in the next innings, his average will go below 40 for the first time in over 70 tests.

From his debut to October 2016, Rahane had played 29 tests and averaged 51.37 with the bat with 8 centuries including centuries all around the world in NZ, Australia, England, WI and SL in those 29 tests.

Since then, he has played 48 more tests averaging just 33.7 in those 48 tests adding only 4 more centuries to his tally.

His average has fallen from 51.37 to 40.18 since Oct 2016.