For The 1st Time In Gautam Gambhir’s Coaching, India Takes Massive Decision In Lord’s ODI

Gambhir takes massive call in the 3rd ODI [Source: AFP]

India lost the second ODI against England on Thursday, and the third ODI at Lord’s has turned into a series decider as India will aim to end the tour on a high. However, right before the start of the contest, Team India suffered a major jolt as injured Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the deciding match.

With Bumrah out, India brought in Arshdeep Singh in his place, and apart from that, the Men in Blue also made a plethora of other changes as Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar were also ruled out of the third ODI.

With all the changes made by the Indian side, there are four specialist pace bowlers in the playing XI, and, interestingly, the Indian head coach has achieved a unique feat during his tenure.

Four pacers included for the first time under Gambhir's coaching tenure

For the first time since Gambhir took over as India’s head coach, the Men in Blue have picked four specialist pacers in the playing XI of an ODI match. Never has it happened before under his astute guidance, and the last time India played four fast bowlers in an ODI game was way back in the 2023 World Cup.

Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh are the four pacers picked by the Indian team in their playing XI for the 3rd ODI at Lord’s.

India have gone in with seven batters and five bowlers, and there is a key reason why the Men in Blue have not picked a second spinner in the main XI.

Why India have gone in with four specialist seamers at Lord's?

The Lord’s wicket always has something for the fast bowlers, and the spinners don’t get much purchase from the deck.

The surface assists seamers as they get lateral movement, and the batters tend to find it hard in the initial ten overs to score runs. As a result, the visitors have picked four seamers in their ranks.

Also, historically, Lord’s famous slope helps pacers alter their ball angle after pitching, creating unpredictable seam and swing that sow doubt in batters’ minds.

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This unpredictability is what makes the Lord’s pitch unique, and hence, India have picked a plethora of seamers in their playing XI for the third ODI.

Moreover, captain Shubman Gill has also revealed why India have picked four pacers:

"We were looking to play 4 seamers on this ground. We have seen in the middle overs that spinners don't really offer much compared to the fast bowlers."

How India's four pacers can utilise the Lord's conditions to prove Gambhir right

All four pacers picked by Gautam Gambhir have different varieties, and they can use that to their advantage in the 3rd ODI against England. Arshdeep Singh has the left-arm angle, and the pacer has the ability to bring the ball back into the right-handers, which brings lbw into action.

Prince Yadav is the quickest amongst the four pacers, and he can create havoc by pushing the England batters on the back foot with his pace. Prasidh Krishna, the tall bowler, can use his height to advantage and can extract extra bounce to trouble the home team batters.

Last but not least, Gurnoor Brar doesn’t have an express pace, but he can generate lateral movement from the deck to induce an outside edge from the English batters.

India's playing XI Vs England, 3rd ODI

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

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