Southampton Test: Pressure now on England to deliver

Before the Nottingham Test, questions were raised about the composition of the India team. Now, the same people are saying there is no need to fiddle with the winning eleven! If Virat Kohli goes into

England's Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root attend a nets session at The AGEAS Bowl, Southampton | AP

Before the Nottingham Test, questions were raised about the composition of the India team. Now, the same people are saying there is no need to fiddle with the winning eleven! If Virat Kohli goes into the fourth Test with an unchanged side, he will be doing so for the first time as captain. He did not play the same XI in the 22 Tests won, 7 lost or 9 drawn.

There could still be a change, if Ravichandran Ashwin’s is ruled unfit. Who replaces him? You can’t go into a Test without a spinner as that could pose problems on the fourth or fifth days. If Ashwin is not fit, his place must go to Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian team is no longer the subject of discussion in the English media. It is more about Joe Root going without a century for a year and the general frailties in batting and bowling. Another issue bothering England is the fad to ask the Indians to bat first. It worked in the second Test, but not in the third in which Indian openers looked comfortable.

Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri must be relieved to see Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane among the runs at Nottingham and also slip catching, which made the bowlers that much more incisive. The beauty of the Indian attack is each of the pacemen looks capable of taking wickets. If Shami is not at his best, Pandya is there to chip in and the trusted workhorse Ishant Sharma can go on and on.

The main problem for England is to decipher Jasprit Bumrah, whether he is a deck-hitting bowler or one who can move the ball off the pitch. His sudden burst of pace is causing problems for the batsmen. So far he has not used the yorker. He tried one when he was on a hat-trick in the third Test. Not many expected India to fight back after Lord’s and now that they have rallied, they expect them to win the series. Let’s take one Test at a time.

(The writer is a veteran commentator and the views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sveturi@gmail.com)