In the contest against Essex, an important practice game for Team India, there were concerns looming large around the top order. Dhawan- 0 and Pujara- 1 and you knew immediately that this isn’t a great start to the Test ambition of a team that’s currently ranked number 1 in the longer format of the game.
While Dhawan’s nought can be deemed accidental and pardoned almost immediately given his great ODI form and consistency, the left-hander renowned for being a fluent starter, what about Cheteshwar Pujara?
The Yorkshire Cricket County Club’s top order specialist is someone who’s made a name for himself in India’s number 3 spot. Known for playing patient innings based on concentration and technical virtuosity- it may not have been the happiest scene for Kohli to see his one-down specialist dismissed for 1.
That said, had Indian captain and KL Rahul not stepped in with important runs, both looking comfortable against swing and the seeming delivery, one doesn’t know what might have happened to Team India.
What also didn’t help India’s cause in the tour game was that vice-captain and important member of the side- Ajinkya Rahane- wasn’t able to hang around for a lot of time either.
Pujara has been amongst the runs in India’s home season, his scores against England and New Zealand back in the day reaping heaps of accolades. For a batsman who scored 1140 from 11 Tests in 2017, bettering his 836 from as many Tests a year earlier, it’s of paramount importance to score in English conditions.
That said, social media vigilantes have already begun to downplay the man responsible for 4500 plus runs at 50.3 calling him names like “flat track bully.” In another part of the world, Hashim Amla, a Test great is struggling similarly, it seems.
While nothing would please Team India captain Kohli more than seeing Pujara increase his Test average or at best ensure it doesn’t deter from the formidable 50 mark, there’d be a similar worry for Faf Du Plessis regarding Amla in the approaching ODIs. The technically proficient right-hander too has an average of 50 but in the limited-overs format of the game.
This is a luxury that Pujara doesn’t enjoy, for his cricket is limited plainly to the 5-day contests. To that regard, it’s absolutely critical that both Rahane and Pujara continue their scoring ways so as to ensure Team India’s pressure doesn’t creep up on Kohli.
Should KL Rahul get to play and score in the upcoming Tests, it will augur well for a side whose rescuer often turns out to be the great Virat Kohli. Probably, nothing will offer India a greater sense of reward than seeing the illustrious Bangalore batsman contribute during his maiden English assignment. A batsman perennially hungry to score and stay in the hunt, Rahul didn’t seem troubled by Matt Quin and Paul Walter, definite future English stars in the making.
That said, what should help Kohli a great deal would be to solve the dilemma surrounding the Test keeper. Purely on merit, there’s no reason to think that Dinesh Karthik will not find his spot in the longer-format and would probably get to feature in the First Test in the least. But that said, Rahul’s fluent batting versus Essex has also pushed his Test credentials
Having struck a fantastic and fighting hundred, then, his first against Australia under a crunch match situation in Australia- back in 2012- ensured that Rahul is no lame Test bat. His brilliant exploits at the IPL ensured his blade was interested in butchery. However, the English conditions- seeming, turning- are about as different to the sub-continental tracks as is Lemon Iced Tea when compared to Brandy, the former an easily drinkable drink to the caustic taste of the latter.
Whatever it is, thankfully for Virat, Team India have got a considerable time to settle down in the English conditions this time around vis-a-vis their nightmare tour in 2014. Playing ODIs and T20s on the Trott may have given them a reasonably great idea on the turn and bounce. But that said Kohli’s Test opposite, Joe Root, seemingly in sublime form, registering two back-to-back ODI tons wouldn’t have to worry about the “English conditions” as much as his Indian opponent.
Moreover, Root isn’t tasked with facing Broad and Anderson. For that, Kohli will be keen to monitor the performances of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, both of whom have so far disappointed thus far. What’s worrying is that, in this age of immense social-media scrutiny, the fans will be hawkishly watching the two tremendously talented batsmen.