India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was looking forward to the chance to regroup after his side's crushing 319-run second Test defeat by England again raised questions about players' workloads. England's victory, achieved with more than a day to spare, left them 2-0 up in this four-match series and on course to replace India at the top of the ICC's Test Championship table - something they will achieve if they win the third Test at Edgbaston starting on August 10.
India arrived in England hot on the heels of completing a Test series win away to the West Indies and then played just the one warm-up match, against county side Somerset. Meanwhile India have been without dynamic opening batsman Virender Sehwag for the first two Tests while he recovers from a shoulder injury. Fellow opener Gautam Gambhir missed the second Test because of an elbow injury suffered while fielding at Lord's and there was a further setback for India when off-spinner Harbhajan Singh sustained a stomach muscle problem at Trent Bridge that meant he bowled just nine overs in England's second innings.
Meanwhile Dhoni has hardly had a meaningful break since leading India to World Cup final glory against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in April. He was then immediately plunged into a full campaign in the cash-rich Indian Premier League where he captained the Chennai Super Kings to victory in the Twenty20 tournament.
Although Dhoni, who would have enough to worry about were he merely to concentrate solely on his dual role as a wicketkeeper/batsman, sat out the one-dayers in the West Indies, he was back at the helm for a three-Test campaign which India won 1-0. With national boards unwilling to cut down on the volume of international cricket which, through multi-million dollar television deals, provides them with the bulk of their income, and many players either unwilling or unable to say 'no' to the immensely lucrative IPL, it appears something has to give.
It was the action of a tired man, in every sense, and Dhoni told reporters after stumps: "It's a mental thing as well because for some of us it's been a seven-match Test series with hardly any gap. "The preparation needs to be slightly different which is why we are saying the next 10 days are important for us - not only physically but mentally as well," added Dhoni, whose team have a two-day practice match against Northamptonshire starting on Friday. "When you have lost one of your four bowlers (Zaheer) it makes things hard, but the fast bowlers got us breakthroughs at valuable times.
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