5 alternate openers for Team India in Test cricket

These five openers have been scoring runs in huge numbers in Indian domestic cricket.

Indian opener Murali Vijay looses his stumps at Lord's for a duck | GettyIndian cricket team is currently sinking faster than the Titanic on their tour to England in the ongoing 5-match Test series. After losing the first Test at Birmingham by 31 runs, everyone expected the star-studded Indian team to come back roaring like the lions at the Lord’s in the second Test.

However, the result was completely opposite to what the Indian team fans were expecting. The Indian team surrendered meekly as they faced James Anderson and Stuart Broad in their full form. Indian team got out for 107 and 130 runs in the two innings and lost the match by an innings and 159 runs.

One of the biggest reasons for the batting failure has been the inability of openers to negotiate the swing and seam of England quick bowlers. In the two Tests, the openers have been out of sorts against some quality bowling and it has hurt the Indian team badly.

Shikhar Dhawan and M Vijay opened in the first Test. Dhawan scored 26 and 13, while Vijay scored 20 and 6. After India lost the match by 31 runs; Dhawan was promptly dropped from the XI for the Lord’s Test. Rahul opened with Vijay in Lord's and the result just got worst.

M Vijay bagged a pair, falling victim to James Anderson’s guile in both innings, while Rahul scored 8 and 10 in the two innings.

Much was expected from M Vijay on this tour, as he was the highest run-getter for India on the disastrous tour of 2014. He had come into this series with a century against Afghanistan to his name and his ability to let the balls go gave the impression to experts that he was an opener of a bygone era.

However, that judgment of leaving the balls deserted him, as seemed eager to play every ball and got out doing so. Dhawan got a raw deal after the first Test, while Rahul failed to counter the swing and just planted his foot down the wicket, in hopes of negating the movement.

Now with all the three openers failing to give something concrete to the team, we have to look at alternatives to these openers.

Here are the five alternate options for opening batsmen for Team India

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 14 Aug, 2018

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