All 11 players need to contribute for India to win reckons Virender Sehwag

First Test, day four, Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik entered the Edgbaston Cricket Ground with high expectations as India required 84 to win the Test match. The game was tilted in India’s favour for the most part but Ben Stokes’ late flurry with the ball created problems for India as they went down by 31 runs. Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag shared his insights for the 2nd Test that will be played at Lord’s.

Kohli’s men will look to make a comeback in the series after a close yet disappointing defeat in the first Test. The Indian bowlers were up to the task but in the batting department, the skipper was the lone warrior as everyone else succumbed to the swinging red cherry. According to Sehwag, the Indian side should have won the 1st Test, “We should have won the First Test, the hard work of the bowlers went in vain,” he said while talking to India Today.

The weather in London is hot, much like the conditions in India. Sehwag believes that the pitch at Lord’s is a batting paradise in hot weather conditions and the fact that India have traditionally done well there further amps their chances.

“Lord’s is a batsman’s wicket during the heat. The batsmen have to be careful of the slope from the dressing room end, the ball comes in due to the slope but every batsman has played at Lord’s except Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya, even they have played ODIs at Lord’s. I opened the batting for the first time at Lord’s where I scored 84,” Sehwag added.

Team combination

The dynamic opener initially wanted Cheteshwar Pujara to be a part of the XI. Sehwag wanted Pujara to bat at his usual number three position with KL Rahul and Murali Vijay as the openers but Kohli surprised everyone with his playing XI.

“Now I want KL to continue because you’ve to back your players, I want KL to get enough chances now,” the 39-year-old also talked about the management and said that they must have woken up now after the first Test.

Lord’s has not been a happy hunting ground for England, the Indian side defeated them at Lord’s back in 2014 when Ishant Sharma scalped seven wickets on the final day. Earlier in May, the English side went down to Pakistan at Lord’s. Viru believes that only three players would step on the ground with confidence at Lord’s, “Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma will be full of confidence but the other eight players need to perform too. We won’t win if only Kohli performs.”

He expects the team management to give the players a longer run. The pitch may suit the spinners which can force Kohli to leave out Hardik Pandya for Ravindra Jadeja or Kuldeep Yadav. Both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul are expected to get one more opportunity. The second Test at Lord’s will begin on Thursday (August 9).

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