Lessons from 2018 tour that could help India ahead of WTC final, England Tests

As India embark on another difficult tour of England, we recall their 2018 visit and focus on things that went wrong and lessons that they can take from their 4-1 Test series defeat.

In the aftermath of the loss, head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli were quite vocal that the end scoreline did little justice to their team’s work and the brand of cricket they played.

India were hammered at Lord’s but went down in Edgbaston and Southampton by margins of only 31 and 60 runs, respectively. They lost crucial tosses through the five-Test series and were having to bat in more challenging circumstances, especially while chasing.

However, even though the series scoreline flattered England, India did certainly falter at various stages and ruined their position of strength in important sessions. In Kohli’s own words, when the Indians were bad, they were really bad.

In overseas conditions, every on and off-field problem stands exposed and only aggravates to ultimately hurt you in moments and situations you could ill-afford losing to the opposition. India’s five-Test series loss to a very beatable English side was an example of one such tour.

India may want to console themselves thinking there were quite close in the race, the fact that they ended up on the losing side more often than not should’ve been a cause of better self-analysis and rectification of deeper issues.

Nevertheless, the forthcoming UK visit for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and Tests against England offer India an opportunity to implement some of their learnings and bounce back strongly in those conditions.

Lessons from the 2018 tour that could help India in the WTC final, England Tests

Focus on technique – both with the bat and the ball

India have lost 11 of their last 14 Tests played in England since the triumph of 2007 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy, which reflects how Indian players – batsmen and bowlers alike – have failed to conquer the English conditions. India’s batting average from these 14 Tests stands at a poor 25.50 and their bowling average at a pedestrian 42.11.

To reverse this trend of being outdone in the two main departments, India need their players to adjust better to England conditions than they’ve done in the past decade.

For batsmen, this means strengthening their defensive techniques and shelving some of their free-flowing strokes that work well in India but bring about their downfall abroad. During the last trip, only Virat Kohli and to an extent, Cheteshwar Pujara, showed the attributes required for success in England.

On the bowling front, Indian pacers must adjust their wrist-position and rather than banging it in around the short of good length area, as they do in Indian conditions, push the ball up and look for swing.

Among Indian bowlers, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were the stand-out exponents of swing in the 2018 series. But India require more collective performances from their attack, including also the spinners, who must show more patience and focus on deceiving batsmen in the air with not much turn available on English tracks.

Trust Cheteshwar Pujara

In 2018, India left out their rock at No.3 Cheteshwar Pujara for the first Test in Edgbaston on the back of an indifferent tour of South Africa. But it only became more evident with every passing hour and every delivery that threatened the edge that it was a mistake on the part of the team management. India missed the stability and assurity that Pujara provides to the team and suffered a bitter defeat in a low-scoring thriller.

When Pujara came back to the playing XI, he ended the series played in the most bowler-friendly conditions in recent years with 278 runs, including contribution in India’s win at Trent Bridge and a heroic century in defeat at Rose Bowl.

Pujara hasn’t been the most consistent since his legacy-defining trip to Australia in the 2018-19 season, but his performances on return Down Under earlier this year should be enough to keep any doubts over his position in the side at bay.

Helping his team clinch another series victory in Australia, Pujara showed that his resilience and defiance is of great importance and influence to the functioning of India’s existing top 6. Pujara bites the hardest bullets, walks down the toughest path and allows others to race along freely, give them the freedom to play their natural games.

Don’t play a semi-fit player

It says something about his desire and passion to play for India that Ravichandran Ashwin was willing to put himself through the firing line in Southampton. For that, Ashwin will always be held highly within the dressing room. But those who were critical of him for not being as effective as Moeen Ali proved to be, certainly also had a point.

If they knew that Ashwin has done his hamstring, the team management should’ve been wary of including him for the Test. Kohli and Shastri could’ve opted for a fit and fine Ravindra Jadeja, who would’ve been lethal on a surface offering just enough grip and turn for the spinners.

It’s a mistake that India can’t afford to repeat no matter who the player is, with the gruelling three-month-long tour expected to challenge their fitness standards the most. Good thing is that India have more cover for places in their squad this time, as the selectors have picked an extended 20-man touring party.

Don’t look for the next Kapil Dev this time

It may be a debatable point whether Hardik Pandya the Test cricketer was better than his numbers suggested. But the fact of the matter is, his presence did hurt India’s balance in England as they were often short of proper batting depth and strength with him at No.6 or 7.

With just one 50+ score to his name from eight innings, Hardik averaged only 23.42 in the series. And though his five-fer contributed immensely to the win in Trent Bridge, not much of his bowling suggested that he could be one of India’s three pacemen abroad.

Since then, India are fortunate that Jadeja has progressed into a competent No.7, who certainly walks into the side as one of the five bowlers. The team should trust Jadeja to be their primary all-rounder in England but must not look for the next Kapil Dev this time, which was the first thing I feared when R Sridhar talked up Shardul Thakur’s batting abilities recently.

With Rishabh Pant proving to be an able No.6 and Jadeja, Ashwin offering the team decent batting abilities apart from their spin mastery, India have an ideal balance going into this England tour. And they must not jeopardise it with any fancy change that look good only on paper and in perceptions. Back your best players through thin and thick, stick to your strengths while also being a touch flexible. You might lose in the end, but at least give yourself the best chance to win.