Indian team’s worst nightmare came true when they were beaten comprehensively by England in Kolkata. England have now taken a 2-1 lead over the hosts and will not lose the series no matter what happens in Nagpur. This is the first time since 1999 that the Indian team has lost two consecutive Tests on their home soil.

Indian team was always going to miss the greats of the games but no one expected them to surrender so meekly and that too in home conditions. After the Ahmedabad Test the word spread that India will go on to win all the four matches. It was suppose to be the revenge series and no one gave Englishmen any chance. Even the cricketing Pundits said that England will do well if they avoid a whitewash.

But things have changed. It is team Indian which is looking like under-dogs in the series. They were completely outplayed in both Mumbai and Kolkata and will have to play out of their skins to avoid an embarrassing series defeat.

Here are some of the things that can help Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team to avoid what will be a humiliating loss.

Forget about the pitch: There has never been so much talk about the pitch then in this series. After the win in Ahmedabad, Dhoni said that he was disappointed with the pitch and expected rank-turners in the coming matches. What happened next was for everyone to see. Indian has always been a formidable side in home conditions. Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly have a tremendous captaincy record in India and seldom one heard about the two giving instruction about the type of pitch they wanted. Dhoni should forget about the type of pitch and should concentrate on playing well.

Batsmen will have to capitalize once they get a start: The major difference between England and India has been that Indian batsmen have wasted the starts that they have got in the previous two Tests. England team have got some huge partnerships over the past two matches, whereas India have just missed opportunities. In both innings of Kolkata Test Indian batsmen got starts, but they got out in 40s, 50s and 70s. Someone from top four will have to score a big hundred for India to put a good score in Nagpur.

Dhoni needs to more attacking in the field: Dhoni’s laid-back attitude has cost India dearly in the past few tours. He just waits for the opposition to make the mistakes and never takes any initiative. There have been some huge partnership against India in recent times and some blame should go to the captain. He needs to be ahead of the game rather than waiting for things to happen.

Spinners need to get their act together: R Ashwin was the best player for India with the bat, but he has been ordinary with the ball. He has struggled from the first match and it will be only fair to say that his batting might come to his rescue. Ojha too has bowled good only in patches and as a team the two spinners have been a big let down.

By Indian Sports News Network