India vs England: Ineptitude of visiting team’s batsmen severely impacted potency of their bowling unit in fifth Test

India’s worst fears came true on Monday; the ineptitude of their batsmen had got to a point where it severely impacted the potency of the team’s bowling unit.

The consequences of the batsmen’s flop show on a flat Oval pitch were terrible. Their inability to occupy the crease for a substantial period of time even on the best batting pitch of the series ensured that their own bowlers would not be accorded ample time to rest and recuperate. Thus India’s bowlers who had enjoyed a great series until then finally caved in.

It was the bowlers’ final fling at England’s batsmen in what had been a long and challenging series. They had provided numerous openings in almost all Tests, but India’s batsmen repeatedly failed to capitalise.

In the final Test, in a desperate move skipper Virat Kohli opted to strengthen the batting by fielding an extra batsman in place of a bowler. The move backfired. An already stressed bowling attack was overworked to the point that it collapsed.

India’s four-man bowling unit had worked hard on the first two days of the Test and done a reasonably good job. The pitch and conditions were not to their liking and as such bowling was tough. In such a scenario, they would have expected their batsmen too to keep England’s bowlers at bay. This would have given the over-worked bowlers considerable rest and recuperation. Alas, this was not to be. They were back on the field the very next day.

India’s first innings was a complete disaster till debutant Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja came up with a rearguard action. But even they could not drag the innings beyond a point and India, having surrendered the initiative to England, played catch up almost throughout.

Under the circumstances, it was hardly a surprise when Ishant Sharma broke down on the fourth morning. He had bowled his heart out in the series, but having to shoulder an extra load without proper rest was bound to tell on his body. This placed an even greater burden on the other three bowlers. The fact that Jadeja was playing his first Test of the series and was hence fresh, probably helped in him bowling a whopping 47 overs. In statistical terms this was nearly 50 percent of the length of India’s first innings (95 overs).

Logically, Kohli could have strengthened the batting by bringing in any of the other batsmen in place of Shikhar Dhawan. He had looked like a sitting duck right through the series. Some of the runs he had made in earlier Tests were courtesy dropped catches and sneaky edges to the fence.

At no time had he looked the part of an international opening batsman. Yet, Kohli persisted with him even as it became increasingly apparent that he was of no use to the team, at least in English conditions.

It was a miracle he survived the opening over in the first innings. He departed one delivery later.

If only Dhawan had taken a leaf out of Cook’s book. The latter, just a year older than Dhawan, but playing his last Test match, had been in woeful form. He had hardly made the sort of scores he was capable of. But Cook was on a mission here.

He had announced his retirement and was keen on making his last Test count. This he succeeded by giving an exemplary exhibition of grit, determination and focus. Out of form and on the way out, he showed that he still could grind it out. The knocks of 71 and 147 were a tribute to commitment and a quest for excellence.

India would have settled for half the number of runs from Dhawan. Instead he came up with 3 and 1 in the 12 balls he faced in the match.

Dhawan was not the only goofy in the line-up. There were others too who seemed out of depth. Ultimately, all that their incompetence achieved was in adversely affecting the effectiveness of their own bowlers.

Ishant promptly broke down on the fourth morning to further reduce the four-man bowling unit to three. India’s hopes virtually evaporated then and there. The ills of the batting had gotten to the bowling and made the team un-competitive for the first time in the series, the Lord’s Test notwithstanding. A sad end to what had once seemed a promising series.