There were a lot of people who did not give England much of a chance to win a single test match against India in India. Those who ended up betting on India will be terribly disappointed with the result as England outclassed India in all departments of the game.
We were one of the few blogs that discarded the betting underdog status that England had with the bookmakers and felt that they could pull of a win in the first test. England did exactly that and won by 227 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four match series. England has also improved their betting odds when it comes to winning the test series.
To check out the current betting odds for the second test and for a series win, you can check out any of the following sites.
What England Did Right To Win?
England got their team selection right for the first test and also won the toss. However, you cannot take away from the fact that this England team performed collectively led by a brilliant double century from their captain Joe Root.
England was also better prepared to face India in India after their recent two match test series against Sri Lanka which they won 2-0. Their batsmen were prepared for a spin friendly wicket and it showed in the way they handled the three Indian spinners. Their bowlers also outperformed this Indian bowling line-up which speaks volume.
England will celebrate this win as it is a massive accomplishment for them. They are 1-0 up in the test series and the pressure is now entirely on India to bounce back in the second test and square the series.
What India Did Wrong!
When India lost their first test in Adelaide against Australia, head coach Ravi Shastri did not do a lengthy post mortem. He asked them to put it behind them and focus on the next game – which is pretty much going to be his strategy against England as well. However, this strategy could end up backfiring as India needs to analyse what went wrong and fix it before the second test.
India looked extremely flat from Day 1 of this test match and Shastri needs to figure out why. Was the team disappointed that they lost the toss and had to bowl? Is the team mentally tired after a gruelling tour of Australia? Is the team finding it difficult to cope from switching from A Rahane’s captaincy to Virat Kohli’s captaincy? Did the selectors get the playing XI correct? Should they make any changes going into the second test?
These are important questions that Ravi Shastri and Kohli need to analyse. A failure to do a proper post mortem and sweep this defeat under the carpet, could result in another defeat in the second test.
Batting Fails In Chennai
India will most likely go in with the same batting line-up for the second test as none of the batsmen are under threat to lose their spot in the side. However, if they have another poor performance in the second test, a few players might start feeling the pressure. R Sharma is a senior player and a lot more is expected of him at the top of the order.
A Rahane made a great century at the MCG and did a great job captaining India in Australia. However, his performance with the bat in the last three tests has been poor and the middle order is suffering because of it. If he ends up failing in the second test, the selectors should think about giving him a break and bringing in a younger player!
We back India to bounce back in the second test which starts on Feb 13.
