On Wednesday, New Zealand finally ended their ICC world event drought by winning the first-ever World Test Championship by defeating India at Southampton. India on the other hand saw another failure in the finals of one of the most looked forward global cricket tournaments.
After a good spell of rain on the first day, the match started on a positive note for team India on the second day but it was on the fourth day New Zealand changed the whole game & took it away from India. It should be noted that the match was extended till the sixth day.
Even though on the sixth day, the conditions were apt for batting & it was a chance for the Indian batting line up to shine, the whole team was disrupted & destroyed by New Zealand for 106. Skipper Virat Kohli failed again to do his job well as a batsman & as a leader of the team in both innings. There is still no answer of why team management selected Ishant Sharma in the bowling lineup.
India’s test really needs to look at some significant changes for the upcoming series against England & need to prepare themselves for the next WTC trophy. The analysis of the scorecard says it all & there are four major changes which India should do.
1)Opening Partnership
Rohit Sharma is one of the most dependable openers the Indian team has for a long time. What we are not able to find is one name that can stand with him on the pitch & rotate the strike with patience. Either Shubham Gill should tighten his boots or he needs to be replaced with Mayank Agarwal. If not Shubham Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara should take the hit. His strike rate for both innings was disappointing & was not expected from a batsman with his experience.
2)Middle Order
One name which should be replaced by some dependable middle-order batsman or all-rounder is Ravindra Jadeja. He is defiantly a star when it comes to T20 & ODI but not when it comes to Test Matches. India needs someone who is more dependable in test matches. Who has the patience to play spin attack & reverse swing? India can’t expect Rishabh Pant & Ajinkya Rahane to score every time.
3)Ajinkya Rahane’s position in the team
It is quite clear that Ajinkya Rahane should be given more opportunities than Virat Kohli. Looking at the success rate of Rahane, he has performed well as compared to the skipper & he has given his best every time he has been given the responsibility. Team management should also think of Rahane as test captain as his records are much better than the skipper now.
4)No More Ishant Sharma
It is quite clear after the WTC final that the only reason Ishant Sharma makes it to the team is that his ability to bowl for long hours. Is that all a bowler needs at a platform like WTC final? We have a much better option & the most dependable bowler on the Indian team right now Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He is young, has a good line & length & has the ability to swing the ball on international pitches. His bowling records on foreign grounds are much better than Ishant’s.
