Saikiran Uppuluri
Saikiran Uppuluri
A commanding double hundred from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and a brisk second innings ton by Shubman Gill masked underlying batting frailties for India in their hard-fought second Test win over England. No other Indian batsman crossed 50 across both innings, concerning head coach Rahul Dravid.
“I do feel that we did leave runs on the board here again. I think that’s, again, maybe a function of the fact that we do have a lot of young batsmen coming through,” Dravid reflected. Jaiswal’s marathon 209 accounted for over half of India’s modest first innings total of 396. Gill later scored 41% of India’s 255.
Dravid suggested the inexperienced batting lineup, beyond the centurions, struggled to balance attack and defense judiciously. Costly mistakes attempting positive stroke play hampered bigger totals, which would’ve eased bowling pressure.
The coach credited England’s skilled aggression, but felt India constantly soaked pressure rather than seizing the initiative. Even recovering from early wobbles, late collapses meant no stage for dictating terms.
While India’s bowlers bailed them out, Dravid knows stacking triple centuries as a buffer isn’t sustainable. More batsmen must shoulder scoring responsibilities for India to consistently amass match-winning totals.
With the series evenly poised, India’s prospects may hinge on its untested batting depth stabilizing. Leveraging supreme individual brilliance is admirable, but a sturdier overall lineup would give India a decisive edge over this dynamic England side.
