India in desperate need of a fighting character in their batting unit

India are facing a lot of troubles against England in the second ongoing Lord's test match.

After the first day was washed out, Indian batting on first day of play of the second test match were shown the way back to dressing room as they scored only 107 runs on a compatible batting wicket.

After the defeat in the first match, played at Edgbaston, Indian captain Virat Kohli's team came under huge criticism and now after the end of first innings the criticism has only increased.

Ex Indian cricketer and captain, Sunil Gavaskar, has written in the times of India newspaper that Indian bowlers have again done their job but it's the Indian batting that has let India down.

He wrote: "In the first test, except for Virat Kohli, all the other batsmen became a victim of confusion and difficulty. There was a clear evidence of lack of preparation."

Before this he had written that there's a need of an extra batsman in the batting line of India and they should consider it. He was disappointing when he came to know that Shikhar Dhawan wasn't playing the second test match.

On the other hand, another ex India captain, Sourav Ganguly, has shown signs of worry regarding the Indian batting. He said that in the Virat Kohli lead side, the batting unit of his lacks showing nerves and a gritty fighting character.

Speaking to Sony Six Ganguly said: "There were difficult conditions but the batting was very poor. Looking at the number of times the ball has gone past the stumps, it's a thing that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible."

He also said that the wicket did its job but a poor batting technique and lack of confidence helped the English bowlers more.

Ganguly said: "India's three innings in England were very bad. Couldn't see a cricketer, there wasn't any trying and this is a thing to worry about a lot."

He said 'If India had scored only 200 runs there would have been some hope, but they could only manage a mere 107. England put down some catches and if they had grabbed those chances then the situation would have worsened for India.'

It is to be noticed that England too faced some trouble early on in their innings. However, a brilliant Chris Woakes' hundred and Jonny Bairstow's 93 runs took the England score to 250 and hence got a good enough lead. England still have 4 wickets in hand and would like to get a few more runs to swell the lead.

My comments: As the Lord's test match is over now and we know the result, the issues of Indian batting were replicated in the second innings as well. Indian batsmen showed a bit of hesitation and a lack of confidence could be clearly seen. Rahul looked lost in confidence and so was the case with Murali Vijay. Ravi Ashwin looked a lot more good at the crease than the top and middle order batsmen of India. I think it's all about the approach. If you're too defensive against England bowling you won't survive and if you try to stay positive, you will score runs and at the same time you will last longer. Indian batting needs to step up in the coming matches to help their bowling and increases their chances of winning or at least drawing a match.

Virat Kohli has hurt his back and we don't know what will be the situation if he misses the third test. If he doesn't play then India will be lost. He needs to get fit quickly and the batsmen around him need to step up quickly.

Speaking of England, they have ticked all the boxes in their bowling department and will be quite happy with their batting too. But they would like their top order to score more runs. The lower order has performed for them and the only issue is their top order. If they get that sorted out they will be hard to defeat in the coming matches. England didn't feel like they needed Stokes with Woakes coming in as his replacement, he was all over India first with his bowling and then with his exceptional batting.

England with 2 nil up in the series would like to get another win in the next match and seal the series. While India on the other side would desperately want a win or at least a draw to stay in the series. Keep glued and let's see what happens in the next test match.

Translated from https://www.bbc.com/urdu/sport-45160195

This article was originally posted on my scorum account.