3 Major Concerns For Shubman Gill's India Ahead Of 2nd Test Vs England At Edgbaston

Problems for Team India ahead of 2nd Tests [Source: AP Photo]

India had the Headingley Test in the palm of their hands but the Shubman Gill-led side allowed the match to slip away on the final day of the Test. Chasing a tricky 371, England had a mountain to climb, however, the opening pair of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley added 188 runs and laid the foundation for a big win.

Duckett scored a majestic 149 runs and Joe Root and Jamie Smith provided the finishing touches as the hosts clinched the win and chased down their second-highest team total in Tests.

Ahead of the game, India have plenty to ponder upon and here are 3 areas of concerns for the Shubman Gill-led side.

1) Gill's questionable captaincy

When Shubman Gill was made the captain of the team, eyebrows were raised as the batter had no experience leading the team in red-ball cricket. Plus, there was Jasprit Bumrah in the ranks who was a better option for captaincy.

In his first Test as India captain, Gill smacked a majestic century to silence his critics with the bat, however, he failed to deliver the goods as a leader. In the second innings, the field placements were not right as there were too many open spaces for England players to exploit. Plus, the rotation of the bowlers was also questionable as Shardul only bowled 16 overs in the entire match while the majority of the workload was carried out by Bumrah.

He needs to go back and assess how his mentor, Virat Kohli led the team in England and perhaps it could help the young captain to deliver in the Edgbaston Test.

2) No bowling threat apart from Bumrah

This is perhaps the biggest worry of them all as the Indian bowling faltered and gave away the hosts an easy win in the end. Chasing 371 should never have been a cakewalk but the Indian bowlers made it easy for Duckett and others.

(Indian bowlers in first Test)

Don't go by the stats but they still tell a small story. Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna both have 5-wickets each but Krishna conceded runs at almost 6 runs per over. His lack of control helped England put pressure on India as the bowler was wayward with his lines and lengths. Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj hardly looked threatening and Shardul got two wickets with luck.

Jadeja picked up Stokes' wicket but that was not due to his brilliance but a failed reverse sweep attempt by the England captain. Apart from Bumrah, no one really looked threatening and if Bumrah decides to skip the 2nd Test (there is a possibility), then where will wickets come from?. Team India need to find a quick solution for this problem.

3) Lack of runs from lower middle  order

In the first innings, India had a meltdown as they lost their last 7 wickets for 41 runs and eventually had to settle for a score of 471, when in reality it should have been more than that. Then again in the second innings, the great Indian collapse took place as the side crumbled from 334-4 to 364 all-out.

Inside 30 runs, they lost 6 wickets and this is where India lost the match. The second innings lead could have been  higher if the lower order batters - Jadeja, Shardul and others would have played sensibly. This has been a major issue for India in Tests. While England lower order batters contributed 111 runs for the last 4 wickets, Indian batters just surrendered under pressure.

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