India suffered a five-wicket defeat in the first Test against England at Headingley. The top five batters, except Sai Sudharsan, had a good time in the middle, but the lower order completely disappointed. The bowlers weren’t any better. The team completely relied on the services of Jasprit Bumrah, who clinched a five-wicket haul in the first innings but went wicketless in the second.
The likes of Mohamed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna struggled with consistency, and that played a major part in India’s defeat in the first Test. Shardul Thakur wasn’t trusted enough, while the standard of fielding was low, too. In the meantime, out-of-favour Test pacer Mohammed Shami reflected on the struggles, stating that the other bowlers will have to learn from Bumrah, talk about planning and support him well to script a comeback in the second Test at Edgbaston.
“In bowling, other Indian bowlers should talk to Bumrah and learn from him. They should talk about planning with him and support him. If they will support Bumrah, then we can easily win the match. If I talk about the first match, then I think we need to do a little work in the bowling,” Shami said on his YouTube channel.
“Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets each in the 2nd innings, but by the time Shardul dismissed two England batters, the match was out of India’s reach. It is very important to take wickets with the new ball. They must support Bumrah. England won the first Test because we gave too many easy runs. We need to find out how to make our bowling side strong,” he added.
Bumrah unlikely to feature second Test
The Indian team has already decided that Bumrah won’t feature in more than three Test matches this series. Keeping that in mind, the team management is likely to give the pacer a break in the second game and make him available for the Lord’s Test. However, it needs to be seen if the Shubman Gill-led side actually follows the plan, especially after a defeat in the first Test.