England will be looking for more of the same when the second Test against India starts on Friday after their 196-run victory in the first Test of the four-game series.
India, on the other hand, will be hoping for some luck after losing Zaheer Khan to a hamstring injury on the first day of the Test, while batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir struggled with illness and injury during the match. Everything which could go wrong, went wrong for India in the opener but that suggests there’s plenty of room for improvement.
There are fitness clouds over players from both sides, with bowler Chris Tremlett unable to train on Wednesday due to a tight hamstring, while Zaheer’s fitness has “improved considerably” although that may not be enough.
The second Test will be held at Trent Bridge in Nottingham which is known for favouring seam and swing so that pair’s availability will be important however neither side will want to risk anything given India’s struggles a man down in the first Test.
England
The English batsmen had some trouble in the first Test but stuck to their task and got the job done with Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior the standouts. Andrew Strauss continues to struggle with the bat, along with number six Eoin Morgan who had a poor Test at Lord’s.
Stuart Broad found some of his best form at Lord’s picking up several wickets, while all of England’s attack really got going as they picked up all 20 of India’s wickets during the Test. However, Tremlett’s fitness cloud may be a concern although Jimmy Anderson insists they’ve got deep reserves, with Tim Bresnan likely to come in if the big quick isn’t fit.
“We know we’re playing really, really good cricket at the moment,” said Anderson. “Everyone’s chipping in – and if we need someone to step up, generally someone is.
“We’re trying to improve each day, as individuals and as a team. If we can do that, we know we can do great things.”
India
India’s highly-regarded top-order batsmen are said to have failed at Lord’s with only Rahul Dravid posting a century, although the alarm bells won’t be ringing just yet with VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina also grabbing half centuries, while Abhinav Mukund scored 49 too. Sachin Tendulkar may have failed in the first Test, but we know he won’t stay down for long.
There may be a change depending on Gautam Gambhir’s fitness after his elbow injury, with Yuvraj Singh waiting in the wings for a recall.
India’s bowling attack only managed 14 wickets throughout the entire first Test following on from Zaheer Khan’s injury on the first day. Spinner Harbhajan Singh had a shocker but if he gets going there’s some upside for India. Zaheer appears unlikely to be fit for the second Test meaning Shanthakumaran Sreesanth should get the nod. With three quicks who can swing the ball, there is hope for India as Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar are dangerous.
“Ishant (Sharma) has been doing really well – he was the man of the series in the West Indies – and Praveen Kumar has taken five wickets (at Lord’s),” said India batsman Mukund.
“Sreesanth is waiting in the wings as well, so it’s not that we have a depleted attack. It’s just that when you lose a fast bowler during a game it’s a completely different scenario.”
With India’s number one world ranking up for grabs in this series, Mukund ominously added: “Being the world number one, the India team has conquered a lot of challenges on the way here. We’ve come here to take up this challenge, and will definitely give it a good fight.”
Squads:
England (from): Andrew Strauss (c), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan
India (from): Abhinav Mukund, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c/wk), Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel, Wriddihiman Saha