Shikhar Dhawan and Umesh Yadav have paid the price for their mediocre show in the first England vs India Test at Edgbaston. Both the players have been dropped from the playing eleven for the second game at Lord’s. Cheteshwar Pujara have replaced Dhawan. On the other hand, Umesh has made way for spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
The left-handed batsman was not a certainty to open with Murali Vijay after bagging a pair in the warm-up match against a second-string Essex side. The southpaw had faced just four deliveries in the warm-up game. That performance further tarnished his image as a Test batsman in overseas conditions.
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However, the team gambled on him and it backfired. In both innings, Dhawan reached out with hard hands at a ball that was moving away outside off stump and was caught in the slips. In the first innings, he got the start and was batting on 26 before poking at an away going delivery from Sam Curran. He struggled in the second innings too as he edged a Stuart Broad delivery to the wicketkeeper after scoring 13.
On the other hand, Umesh struggled with his line and length despite the conditions being favourable for the bowlers. In the first innings, he conceded more than 3 runs per over and managed to pickup just one wicket. The right-arm pacer improved in the second essay as he took 2 wickets but it was not enough to guarantee him a spot in the team for the Lord’s Test.
Kuldeep and Pujara will look to make the most of the opportunity. A good show in this game is set to give them an extended run in the team.
Meanwhile, the fans were quick to react to India’s playing eleven.
Here are some of the reactions:
High time Kohli is sacked from captaincy and Ravi Shastri is kicked out from post of head coach. A genuine pacer is dropped in overcast conditions, slow caps for team management.
— Deepak Joshi (@Joshideepak3) August 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/MANISH_1818/status/1027851605817708544
https://twitter.com/Jiten24841/status/1027851925176442880
#NewRecord Shikhar Dhawan has not yet played a full test series overseas.#unwanted #AntiModiFrontLoses
— Aarya Modi (@modi_aarya) August 10, 2018
So @SDhawan25 scored more than rahane,kl,mv,dk..but he was dropped as always.. Just shame… #INDvENG @SPNSportsIndia
— Arindam Ghosh (@aringh93) August 10, 2018
@IamNicck India have blundered again by including Pujara & Rahane for this test.Both badly out of form.Should have included Rishabh Pant & opened with Kuldeep Yadav.Umesh gets treated badly while Shami keeps his place.Ludicrous!!
— Dr.Rakesh Sadhu (@rakeshsadhu) August 10, 2018
Not playing Cheteshwar Pujara at Edgbaston was like Virat Kohli missing out on the stepney before gearing up to replace the punctured tyre at the high altitude. Always believe in those repairing kits, mate. #ENGvIND
— Tahir Ibn Manzoor (@TahirIbnManzoor) August 10, 2018