5 Ways England can make a comeback in the ongoing Test series against India

The England cricket team is currently having a horrid time in India and have already surrendered a 2-0 unassailable lead to India in the 5-match series. Dreams of making a repeat of the 2012 series were shattered for Alastair Cook and his boys as they look to restore some of their lost pride in the 4th Test scheduled to be played in Mumbai from 8th December. After a strong performance in the Rajkot Test, the England team has fallen apart and have been outplayed thoroughly in each and every department. Ben Stokes has been the standout performer for the visitors contributing with both bat and the ball. He scored a brilliant century in the Rajkot Test and followed it up with a five-wicket haul in the Mohali where the surface was not the best suited for seam bowling. It will be an uphill task for the visitors to make a comeback from this situation but you cannot rule them out either. In their last tour of India, England won the series 2-1 after trailing 0-1 but back then they had two quality spinners in the form of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. The English team is currently in Dubai to refresh their minds from the recent defeats and it won’t be a surprise if the move does help them. With less than four days left for the 4th Test in Mumbai to commence, we jot down 5 possible ways that how England can make a comeback in the Test series 1. Tackling the spinners better: Joe Root. (Photo Source: BCCI) On Indian pitches, if you don’t have quality batsmen against the spinners then you are bound to struggle. Though the pitches in the last 3 Tests were not rank turners by any stress of imagination, but still the Indian spinners bowled accurately and bamboozled most in the English batting line-up. Apart from Jonny Bairstow, none of them looked very comfortable against the spinners including the likes of Joe Root and Alastair Cook. Ashwin who has been getting wickets at will has been India’s trump card and has been very well supported by Ravindra Jadeja and newcomer Jayant Yadav. If England does stand a chance in this series, then their batting against the spinners has to reach another level or else they will be steamrolled in the remaining two Tests as well. 2. Don’t bowl to India’s strengths: Stuart Broad. (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images) England has been the only team in the last 10 years that has beaten India in a Test series in their own backyard. This record itself proves how difficult it is for a visiting team to come to India and return triumphant. The star-studded Indian batting line-up including the likes of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane knows exactly how to play on the Indian pitches. Especially against Kohli, the English bowlers have consistently bowled to his strengths and have gone for plenty. Though Rahane hasn’t had a particularly great series so far but if the English bowlers keep on bowling to his strengths then a big knock is not far away. Pujara has been in scintillating form scoring two centuries in the series so far. The visitors have found it really difficult to cope with his style of play. Despite being a predominantly defensive player, Pujara has scored brisk centuries in the series so far and has scored at a faster rate than his captain and Rahane. So as it stands the England bowlers have to pull up their socks if they have any chance of registering a surprise comeback in the series. 3. Make changes in the batting order: Durham batsman Keaton Jennings. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) The England team has been in a turmoil in the last few months and has even failed to win the Test series in Bangladesh. They also drew their home Test series against Pakistan and hasn’t looked the greatest of sides in the recent past. The England team management hasn’t quite found a reliable opening partner for Alastair Cook ever since the retirement of Andrew Strauss and just when the teenager Haseeb Hameed was slowly coming into his own, he was forced back to go to England after sustaining a finger injury. Joe Root, who opened the batting with Cook in the 2nd innings of the 3rd Test looked pretty impressive while scoring a fluent 76. The team management has brought in Keaton Jennings as the backup opener and in all likelihood, he will open the batting with the skipper. 4. Attack with the best available option: Ben Stokes of England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) If England’s strength is pace then they must have the tenacity to stick to their strengths. Playing a spinner who hasn’t quite proved his mettle at the highest level in place of a pacer only because the conditions suit spinners more than the pacers won’t be the best idea for the visitors. All-rounder Ben Stokes who is not England’s premier bowler was the pick of the English bowlers during his five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Mohali Test. On a pitch where there was pretty less assistance for the pacers, Stokes bowled his heart out to finish with figures of 5/72. At times he looked much more threatening than a James Anderson or a Stuart Broad. All the available spinners haven’t looked impressive enough and on pitches where the Indian spinners have created magic, they are unable to make an impact. Moeen Ali and Gareth Batty have gone for plenty in the series without getting much success. On the other hand pacers like Stokes, Anderson and Broad have all bowled well. Keeping this in mind, the English team management must stick to their strengths and just go in with Adil Rashid as the spinner and bring in another pacer. 5. Don’t indulge in on-field brawls: Ben Stokes. (Photo Source: BCCI) One of the major incidents which hogged the limelight during the Mohali Test was the on-field banter between Virat Kohli and Ben Stokes. After Stokes’ dismissal in the 1st innings, he and Kohli had a heated exchange of words. Stokes was fined 15% of his match fee by match referee Roshan Mahanama for using “language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting” during his exchange with Kohli. Kohli escaped without a warning but Stokes was the man who was found guilty. Though onfield banters and sledging has become a part of the recent trend but it is better to stay away from all the controversies when your team is not playing to the best of their abilities. The scenario might have been different if the scoreline was reversed, but as it stands, England should not take chances provocating someone like Kohli at least.

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5 Ways England can make a comeback in the ongoing Test series against India

3. Make changes in the batting order:

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