India vs England, 2023-24: Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma's poor output hurting India. India would need Gill and Iyer to get runs under their belt soon.
India’s 2023-25 WTC progress suffered a major setback as they faced a stunning 28-run defeat at the hands of England in the 1st Test of the 5-match series in Hyderabad. This is only their 4th Test defeat at home since 2013 and 2nd in two years.
Though the margin of defeat may suggest the match was close if we take a closer look at the match standings, we may get a clear picture of what transpired. The home team failed to chase 231 on what was a slow-turning surface and one where there were no demons even on the 4th day of play. Batting did not seem that difficult when England batted in their 2nd essay and batters could get runs once they applied themselves.
However, India’s top order could not get going for the 2nd time in the Test match and this time, they left too much in the tank for the lower middle order to achieve. As a result, despite the best efforts of batters coming lower down the order, India failed to overcome the English threat.
Here we have identified 3 players whose poor show in the 1st Test resulted in India’s defeat and they need to do much more for the team’s cause.
Rohit Sharma
India’s skipper didn’t have the worst of outings by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly could have done much better than the 24 & 39 he got in Hyderabad. As his score suggests, Rohit Sharma got starts in both innings, but he couldn’t convert them into a big match-winning knock.
He is by far India’s most experienced batter in the line-up in the absence of players like Virat Kohli (for the 1st two Tests), Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. So, the onus is on a senior player like him to play a long innings and hold the batting together like he did in the last few years, but he got out to a rash shot in the 1st innings.
Temperament is what makes Test batters great, and Rohit needs to occupy the crease for a long period, given the fact that India is in a transitional phase in their batting department. He must curb his instincts and bat with greater responsibility in the upcoming games.
Rohit Sharma in WTC
WTC Cycle | Innings | Runs | Average | 50s/100s |
2019-21 | 19 | 1094 | 62.65 | 2/4 |
2021-23 | 19 | 758 | 42.11 | 2/2 |
2023-25 | 9 | 363 | 45.37 | 2/1 |
Though Rohit Sharma’s record overall has been impressive in this current WTC cycle, consistency in scoring the big runs is missing. In the previous editions, Rohit many times played a long inning both home and away, something which is missing in the ongoing cycle.
The India skipper needs to step up and take responsibility for playing long innings in the remaining matches.
Read More: IND vs ENG, 2024: Do-or-die Test series awaits Gill; Patidar, Easwaran potential backups for no. 3
Shubman Gill
India’s new no.3 Shubman Gill has all the talents in the world and that is why the team management is hell-bent on giving more opportunities despite the batter’s poor returns in Tests. Gill averages just a fraction below 30 after 21 Tests with just 2 centuries to his name. These are genuinely subpar numbers, given the skills he possesses.
Even in the game at Hyderabad, Gill looked very low on confidence and never looked settled at the crease. He scored a 66-ball 23 in the 1st innings after struggling to get going and then departed for a second ball duck during India’s chase of 231. Not just this match, Shubman Gill has struggled for most of his Test career and his debut series in Australia back in 2020/21 remains his best to date in his last 11 innings, Gill has just made 173 runs without a single 50+ score.
Moreover, since moving to the no.3 slot vacated by Cheteshwar Pujara, Gill hasn’t been able to do justice to the role and has found wanting more often than not. Much was expected of him at the top of the order but it is safe to say that the right-hander has not fulfilled what was asked of neither him nor his true potential.
Shreyas Iyer
Another disappointment in the recent few Tests that India has played is the middle-order batter, Shreyas Iyer.
After a staggering World Cup 2023 campaign where he amassed over 500 runs, Iyer was expected to cement his place in India’s middle-order in whites. The right-hander was entrusted to fill the void left by experienced Ajinkya Rahane through his positive style of play.
However, in the Test series in South Africa and Hyderabad, Iyer struggled big time. Yes, conditions were tough for batting in South Africa, but his performance in the 1st Test against England was far from ideal. He was expected to take the game by its horns and attack spinners with old ball but it didn’t happen in both the innings.
Instead, he gifted his wickets away and not just this Test, when we take a look at his last 11 innings, Iyer has made only 160 runs. This is not the kind of return the team is looking for from him and the right-hander should improve big-time alongside Shubman Gill. Otherwise, now consistent KL Rahul may take over the No. 5 spot once Virat Kohli makes his comeback down the line.
Comments