The first two Test matches and the first two days of the third Test match were fought toe to toe between India and England before the hosts went ahead like Usain Bolt used to do in a 100-meter dash, as they dominated the last two days at Rajkot to claim their biggest Test victory of 434 runs.
The Rohit Sharma-led have taken a 2-1 lead in the series but one thing is sure with this England team, they will not go down without a fight. After their biggest Test loss, questions have been raised about their Bazball strategy. A lot of their former players and boffins have called for ‘playing the situation’, rather than go bang-bang from the get-go.
Meanwhile, there have been a lot of positives for India. They have found a superstar in the making, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has amassed 545 runs in the first three Test matches. Moreover, Sarfaraz Khan made a memorable debut, scoring twin fifties in his maiden match and becoming the fourth Indian to do so.
However, Jasprit Bumrah is all set to be rested after sending down 80.5 overs. Ergo, it will be interesting to note India’s combination – will they play Axar Patel or will they go back to Mukesh Kumar? It has been also reported that Akash Deep is in line to make his Test debut. Furthermore, KL Rahul has been ruled out of the fourth Test as he is yet to achieve full fitness after suffering a quadriceps injury.
On the other hand, England will need runs from their middle order, particularly Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. The experienced duo have failed to score consistently and Root’s shot selection has also come under the scanner.
Match Prediction: India will enter the contest as favorites against England.
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Axar Patel, Srikar Bharat, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep.
England Squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Daniel Lawrence, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir.
