After Vizag fightback, another Bazball test for depleted India

It's 1-1 in the series, but India haven't quite found all the answers to England's questions going into crucial Rajkot Test 

- Rasesh Mandani

Heading into the first Test in Hyderabad, the local association marketed it as a marquee series and gave it a festive feel-chai, cricket and biryani. The preseries predictions were that the hosts would romp home; pundits said 4-1, because England's risk would bring India some reward.

On match eve, Virat Kohli dropped out for personal reasons, England won the opening Test through Ollie Pope's ambush, and even though the series is now level on 1-1, the general feeling is of the hosts having to play catch up.

The swag Indian teams carry at home comes not just from their phenomenal record no Test series lost in 12 years - but also due to the presence of batting heavyweights. Kohli bustling into the training arena, earplugs in place and wearing tattoos.

Cheteshwar Pujara, with no such gait but his powers of concentration would become evident as he settled into a net session. There's no Kohli for the rest of the series, and India have taken a huge call by not sending an SOS to Pujara, who is right here in Rajkot, but getting ready for Saurashtra's next Ranji encounter against Manipur starting on Friday.

Instead, India are set to reward Sarfaraz Khan's domestic exploits with a Test cap on Thursday; also to young Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who has clocked only two first-class seasons. There is nervousness among the decision-makers over whether the young crop will be able to provide adequate cover for seasoned players, especially Kohli and KL Rahul. Of course, India may not admit that.