India's woes in the red-ball format continued as they suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of England in the first Test of the series at Headingly, Leeds.
The Three Lions chased down a target of 371 in the second innings comfortably, which saw them register a convincing five-wicket victory to take the lead in the series.
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Despite getting to a total of 471 in the first innings, India's shortcomings on the field and the over-dependency on Jasprit Bumrah proved to be costly as England took full advantage. The Indian fast bowler took five wickets in the first innings, while others went for heavy runs.
The hosts took a more cautious approach in the second innings against the pacer, which saw him go wicket-less in an all-important juncture of the game. The flat track at Headingly also didn't help him much, which limited his efficiency in the later stages of the game.
The series opener proved that India is more reliant on Bumrah than they imagined, which now places them in a tricky position ahead of the second Test at Edgbaston.
The pacer had already revealed that he would not play more than three matches in the series, which Dinesh Karthik feels is the right time to rest him, as he has bowled a lot of overs in the first Test.
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What did Dinesh Karthik say about Jasprit Bumrah?
Speaking to Cricbuzz, the former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman claimed that Bumrah would not want to play the second Test at Edgbaston, as the flat track would not be providing much help to the pacer.
"First of all, we need to see if Bumrah is playing. I doubt Bumrah would want to play at Edgbaston. I would think that he would wait. It is flat and it would give his body more time, he has bowled a lot of overs in this game."
Karthik feels that Bumrah would love to play at Lord's but should play according to the team's needs rather than his own.
"The more rest, the better for him. I think he would love playing at Lord’s, but it is not about what he wants, but what the team feels he has to do as well."
The veteran wicketkeeper also opined on the fact that India shouldn't play more than one spinner in their team, as it can weaken their batting.
Check: IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Will Jasprit Bumrah be rested in Birmingham Test?
"Everything about England tells you that you don’t need to play more than one spinner. If you are playing two spinners, then that genuinely weakens your batting. They need to be very sure of one thing: they can’t think what England will do."
Karthik further mentioned that even though England have picked an ordinary bowling lineup, they have really backed themselves well enough to chase whatever target they are given.
"What England are doing is very simple, they have picked even if it is an ordinary bowling and are saying you give us whatever you want to chase, we will back ourselves to do it."
For India to prosper in the Anderson-Tendulkar series, Bumrah needs to play at his full potential in whichever match he chooses to play. India trail the series by 0-1 and find themselves in a tricky position, as they are yet to decide the games in which their star bowler will play in order to get the best out of him.