Did Dhoni Miss Aaron Or Ashwin On Day 1 In Southampton?

It is a good wager that paceman Varun Aaron and off-spinner R Ashwin will have had to deal with conflicting thoughts of having been left out of the Indian XI for the third Investec Test against England at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. They would have been both disappointed and at once relieved that they did not have to overcome the challenge of having to bowl on a flat deck.

In Ishant Sharma's absence with an ankle injury, Mahendra Singh Dhoni should have gone in with someone who could intimidate England and that would have been Varun Aaron. His fellow-Jharkhand player has the pace to take the pitch out of the equation. The Indian captain could have used him in short spells on a track that offered the seamers little assistance.

Ashwin's guile - way ahead of Ravindra Jadeja's - could have tested England's left-handers Alastair Cook and Gary Ballance who shared a 158-run stand for the second wicket. But Dhoni's mind seems made up against including the off-spinner in his plans. Did India pay for that? Only time will answer that question over the next few days.

To be fair, there is no denying that the strapping Pankaj Singh did a good fist of bowling within his limitations but India needed someone who could be among the wickets on a track like this. In Ishant Sharma's absence, it had to be Aaron. He has the pace to consistently overcome a flat deck and harry the batsmen into making mistakes.

It was tragic that India's reluctance to position the slip fielders better came in the way of Pankaj claiming his maiden Test wicket in his opening spell. It can only be hoped that India will learnt from the mistakes and return on Monday with a more aggressive intent. That will quash any aspirations that Cook and his men have of pulling one back and levelling the series.

It was even more tragic that Pankaj's appeal for leg before against Ian Bell in the final session was turned down by Australian umpire Rod Tucker. Well as Pankaj bowled, the fact is that India did not pick enough bowlers who would take 20 wickets in this Test. It is clear that India have preferred to wait until they get to Old Trafford to make a push to notch up another win.

In picking Rohit Sharma ahead of off-spinner Ashwin and Stuart Binny, Dhoni has sought to bolster the batting in a bid to ensure that the 1-0 lead can be protected. It is clearly a defensive tactic, aimed at improving India's specialist batsmen's chances of keeping the England bowlers at bay for long enough to be able to protect the 1-0 lead.

With each passing over, it was becoming clear that the Indian batsmen will have to come up with a strong response to ensure that the threat of the follow-on is averted and that the challenge of having to bat last on a track that does not appear to be the sort that will deteriorate much. The ball, as the cliche goes, is in the Indian batsmen's court.

After the first day when England made 247 for two, India can only hope that their batsmen will deal with pressure when it is piled on them in the coming days. There can be no doubting that Dhoni could have given his limited attack better fields to challenge England, even on the flat pitch that held little by way of encouragement for the bowlers.