India losing consecutive matches against England has lead to the question that, Does India deserves the Number 1 Test status? The two humiliating matches prove that India lost their number 1 status in Test Cricket. To know more about India’s ranking in Cricket check this wiki article below.
When Dhoni took his team to the highest point of victory just a year back, he should have known that the real task of India had already started. It is more difficult to sustain the top spot than achieving it. The same happened in the case of India.
The two humiliating defeats at the hand of England, one by 196 runs and the other by 319 runs prove that India does not deserve to remain the No. 1 team in Test cricket. It is just a matter of time until England dethrones India from the top most position proving them in a better way.
Some cricket critics have tried to find out the root Causes for India losing the matches against England. These causes maybe summarized as:
Lack of Preparedness : India was not ready to face a team like England. Their winning the world cup brought so much over confidence in them that they did not settle with their homework for the match.
Batsmen's form: India's Batting line was always the strongest. Bowling was never much their cup of tea. But in this Test match the batsmen have been the biggest let downs. Only other than Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, no one could face the England pacemen quite well. The off short balls with which good players like Suresh Raina or Yuvraj Singh backed out was shameful and disgusting.
Injuries: Injuries after the IPL took off most players out of the team. Batmen like Ghambhir, Shewag, Zaheer Khan got injured playing the tournament. On their return in this England tour, they seem to be out of practice and thus could not play well.
Harbhajan's failure: Being the world's best spinner, Harbhajan did not seem to make an impact on England. Much was expected from Harbhajan with the absence of Zaheer Khan but he did not seem to be in his best form.
Dhoni's bad form: Dhoni being not quite concerned about his own form, it is quite difficult for the others to maintain theirs. Dhoni being the captain when could not keep his form he did not have the face to inspire the others, thus leading to a total downfall of the team.
Lack of fighting spirit: It was disappointing to watch that the Indian players did not even try to fight back. In the Match at Lord's 2nd innings they reduced England at 62/5, but in this match they seemed to have lost all hopes.
Priorities (IPL over international matches): India should set their priorities right. IPL should not go over international matches. Australian players could retire from the IPL to concentrate on their test match, only Indian players like Shewag, Gambhir Zaheer and even Tendulkar couldn't. Who should be blamed for this fiasco? The players or BCCI, the answer awaits all.
