Ashwin's success, dry surface make India consider two spinners at Lord's

The Indian cricket team is all set to take on England in the second Test at Lord's on August 9

After a dramatic encounter at Edgbaston, the action moves to the ‘Mecca of Cricket’, the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The Indian cricket team is all set to take on the hosts in the 2^nd Test on Thursday, aiming at levelling the series 1-1.

Whatever happened in Birmingham was no less than a lesson for the Indian batsmen. The World No1 Test side would’ve ended it badly if captain Virat Kohli hadn’t been there for the rescue. Despite the loss, the mood in the Indian dressing room is quite upbeat. The batsmen are expected to come forward and take responsibility so as to avoid what they faced a few days ago.

Behaviour of the pitch:

Two days prior to the 2^nd face-off, a healthy amount of grass was spotted on the Lord’s track. The groundsmen are expected to shave them off. Even if they don’t do so, the dryness remains as it is. In that case, the conditions might make the Indian team management to go with two spinners in the side, unlike the line-up of the previous game.

On the other hand, Indian bowling coach, Bharat Arun has already ruled out the speculations of playing an extra batsman. He believes that the conditions are not going to be as friendly as it was in the first Test, it makes more sense to play five bowlers.

Hence, in that case, Umesh Yadav could find himself on the bench while Ishant (wrecker-in-chief of the 2014 clash), Shami and Pandya could be seen handling the pace duties.

Toss-up for the second spinner

Ashwin performed phenomenally with the ball at Edgbaston, picking up 7 wickets in the match. However, on some occasions, the team probably felt the lack of another spinner. Since the track at Lord's is expected to be dry, India might find it a bit difficult to choose anyone from Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, who could assist Ashwin in the spin attack.

Going 4 years down the memory lane, Jadeja had a decent outing at this venue in 2014, under the leadership of MS Dhoni. He managed to pick up only 3 wickets but contributed with the bat scoring 68 in the second innings which helped the visitors put on a match-winning total.

On the other hand, Kuldeep’s wrist-spin could turn into a lethal weapon in dry English conditions. In the practice session, he was seen beating up Kohli with drift and turn on more than a couple of occasions.

The batting conundrum

Currently, there is just one batsman who is familiar with these conditions more than anybody and he is Cheteshwar Pujara. Despite having spent most of his time playing county games, he was not played in the first Test. But the way Indian batsmen served, there are chances that the 30-year-old batsman might return.

At the same time, it will be a tough decision to release a player so as to make the place for Pujara. Opener Shikhar Dhawan only managed 26 and 13, while Rahul scored 4 and 13, yet nothing has really changed since Birmingham.

From the English side

In comparison, England's permutations are far simpler. Dawid Malan is dropped and Ben Stokes is unavailable due to his on-going court case for affray. In that light, Joe Root only has to decide if he wants two spinners or not.

Moeen Ali will walk into the side and take up one of those vacant spots. It will also mean a Lord's debut for 20-year-old Oliver Pope, as three pacers – James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Sam Curran – should be enough on a dry, spin-friendly wicket. The greater concern for the hosts is their recent record at the 'Home of Cricket'.

Going back to India's last visit here, England have only won three out of their last nine Tests at this hallowed ground.

SQUADS:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

England: Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Oliver Pope, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jamie Porter, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes.