India has suffered a painful defeat in the hands of England in the recently concluded the test match. This is going to be one of the most painstaking defeats for India in recent times as we got so close to winning the game, but ended up losing by a margin of just 22 runs in the end.
There is one major defect in India that ended up costing the game and it is the lower order. Yes, it is a fact that the top order was absolutely pathetic with the bat as they got out cheap, but the lower order is also to be blamed here.
Had one lower order batsmen, including Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar, along with Bumrah and Siraj stuck with Jadeja, we could have easily won the game.
Around hundred runs were needed from the final two sessions with 4 wickets, the batting team is still at advantage.
Had it been Australia or England in such a situation with hundred runs to get with four wickets in hand we can expect them to win 9 out of 10 times. This is the kind of efficiency that their lower order batsmen have.
This is the kind of lower order, batting that India must develop if they are to have any significant success in the test format of the game.
Bumrah and Siraj were indeed effective with the bat to their own capacity, but more expected if India is to win in such situations.
This is exactly what sets champion teams like Australia and England, apart from the rest. It is perhaps time for India to learn a lesson from this aspect and start to enhance their lower order batting department adequately henceforth.
