England v India – 2nd Test – Change in strategy imperative for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750
England and India will be up against each other in the second Test of the four-match series at Nottingham, on July 29, 2011. The home team is currently leading the series by 1-0 as they defeated the Men in Blue by an emphatic margin of 196 runs in the first match at Lord’s, which was also the 2000th Test of the history of the sport and also the 100th between the two countries.
India is currently the number one ranked Test team of the world but they did not play like one at the Home of Cricket. The biggest problem which the Indian team is facing right now is the fitness of its key players like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 as Andrew Strauss and company do not have an impressive record against the turning ball.
If Zaheer is not able to make it to the second Test, then right-arm medium-fast bowler, Shantakumaran Sreesanth, is all set to make a Test return in Nottingham. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/S-Sreesanth-c2398 might not be a bad option as he does have the ability to seam the ball at pace and generally bowls on good areas.
India’s batting looks fine and there is no change expected in the batting department, unless there is a last minute injury.
However, the Indians will have to reshape their strategy as they were ultra-defensive at times and seemed to be on the back foot in the Lord’s Test.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 and his men need to realise that they are the number one ranked team of the world in Test cricket and they are also the world champions in the 50-overs format of the game. All the teams face difficult situations but the best teams know how to come out of them.
On the fifth day of the Lord’s Test, India had nine wickets in hand and had to bat out the day in order to avoid defeat. However, the Indian batsmen went into a shell and did not play their shots and just tried to occupy the crease. Their ultra-defensive mode gave the confidence to the English bowlers and they just attacked the opposition without any fear.
India need to be aggressive and should hold the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bull-c48831 from the horns rather than trying to avoid the pressure. The senior men have to take the responsibility on their shoulders and must guide the youngsters through difficult phases, as cricket is a team game after all.
Let’s hope that the cricket fans witness a better fight from India in the second match of the series.
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