Ind VS Eng test: Middle-order collapses yet again! Openers left with no support from the team
The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane are known for their test heroics but ahead of the India tour England test series, there were fair share of concerns regarding their form which have proven to be true. It is the top order that has managed to be in the game and shined during the ongoing series.
India’s middle order, however, crumbled during the series and that is a major cause of concern. The one after another fall of wicket showed that it’s high time that the middle order should up their game and take charge to be able to secure India a victory.
Did you know that India is only ahead of the West Indies when it comes to the average of the middle order of the team? This means that from number 3 to number 5, batsmen have managed to only score an average of 27.44 in 13 matches, which is the second-worst record globally.
Not only did Pujara and Rahane could not keep the run going, skipper Virat Kohli also suffered at the hands of pressure and lack of form since the last few games. Kohli has been excused of the criticism as being a captain saves him from being targeted here.
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A similar angle was hinted by Sunil Gavaskar earlier that Pujara and Rahane have to tolerate all the criticism but Kohli escapes all that because of the captaincy hat he is wearing. It is important to note that for India, currently these three batsmen are forming the middle order and all of them are experienced enough to hit big at times when required but unfortunately, none of them are clicking with the bat.
Pujara has managed to make 389 runs this year while Kohli has only got 271 runs in 27 matches played. Rahane scored the lowest among these three with a 261 run cup. But again, Rahane also is the one to have played the least number of matches, which is less than 20.
The way these blatmen are being dismissed is also a very confusing pattern. In Nottingham for example, James Anderson took wickets of Pujara and Kohli on successive deliveries while Rahane ran himself out embarrassingly. Kohli has been repeating his mistakes during the dismissal. He was dismissed exactly the same way he was dismissed during the first test.
The most concerning part here is the fact that the collapse of the middle order is hurting the setup of the openers. They are scoring runs and setting up the field for victory but a sudden collapse and a non-admirable effort by the middle order is leaving the team disappointed.
