ENG vs IND | 3rd Test Preview: Spirited Kohli's troops to test battered Root & his men's resolve

As soon as the pair of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah took bats in their hand to rescue India on the final day, the supremacy of India was well and truly established over the hosts England. It was more or less affirmation of what Team India are built up of and how they always find a way to remain in the game. 

Then, the quartet of pacers including Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj breathed fire on the last two sessions to affirm that once they find their feet grounded after weathering tough times, they pounce on crunch situations to give “hell” to the opposition.

On the contrary, from the same time of the game, it was a downhill curve for England as the skipper Joe Root and his men got into a tangle of competing with the mere words and not backing with the agility and proactiveness. They tried to settle their ego clashes with Bumrah and the wise man that he is, quietly took the game away from their grasp. 

Root, in the end, was made to look like a captain who had run out of options, against Virat Kohli, who had a perfect share of enthusiasm and charisma to marshall his troops and deliver a win inside 55 overs on the final day of the Test. In a way, it was poetic justice that both the captains were standing with a completely different set of fortunes.

While on one hand, Kohli has struggled for runs and discipline around his off stump, Root has had a dream run with the bat so far in the series. He has failed just once with the bat and has two scores of hundreds and a fifty to his name, the Indian skipper has not scored one fifty in three innings so far. 

To deepen the contrasting fortunes of the captains, the impact of Kohli’s lack of runs has been limited by the stupendous batting form of his openers while the English skipper has always scored runs in rearguard action as his openers have been proven flawed and unimaginative against a relentless Indian bowling attack.

The Test match at Lord’s was a classic one but only because of Root’s brilliance with the bat otherwise, it would have been curtains for the hosts very early. 

India seemed to have found their units working perfectly in tandem at Lord’s as the bowlers kept on charging in on an unsupportive surface. It was followed by the under pressure duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane answering clarion calls to stitch a big 100-run partnership that paved the way for an eventual Lord’s win.

Coming into the third Test as the caravan moves to Leeds at the home ground of England skipper, it’s India who have few questions to answer while England have been left with too many issues to ponder upon in the aftermath of a hurting defeat at Lord’s.

England also have to manage their resources well as they are scarce of their match-winning players. The absence of Ben Stokes has had a telling effect on their team’s balance and a fluid top order never allowed them sustained dominance on the Indian bowling attack. They will also be without Stuart Broad and Mark Wood and the path for Root is appearing to go only steeper with each passing day. 

England vs India: Match Details

Match Number- 03

Date and Time: August 25-29, 2021, 3:30 pm IST, 10:30 Local, 10:00 GMT

Venue: Headingley, Leeds

Broadcast and Live Stream: SonyLIV, Sony Six

Pitch Report

The pitch at the Headingley has a history of aiding pace and bounce and it generally swings around with the duke ball at the venue. The pitches in the series so far have not been too pace friendly though and the trend is likely to continue.

England will rely on James Anderson to top the Indian top order so that the trio of Kohli, Pujara and Rahane can be brought in the middle early against the newish ball.

India too will fancy their chances with the ball if it will swing around in Leeds, but the batsmen will have to put their hands up to give more cushion to the bowler after an intense and grinding Test at Lord’s.

It is expected to be overcast across all days of the Test match but rain is unlikely to play spoilsport.

Team News

England

England have dropped two top-order batsmen so far in the series and they are all but sure to bring back Dawid Malan at the number three position. 

Malan has been touted to be a good player against pace bowling based on his scintillating hundred against Australia in 2017-18 and the team management will bank on him to deliver strong resistance at the top of the order. However, he has played just one red-ball game in the recent past and his record in England against swinging balls do not inspire confidence either.

Another returning man Haseeb Hameed did not have a good game at Lord’s, where he was asked to bat the number three position and he looked short of confidence on the return after five years.

England might also be tempted to bring Ollie Pope at the number six position by asking Jonny Bairstow to keep wickets in place of Jos Buttler. But, the move sounds too radical to be executed in mid of an important series, and Buttler did show good signs of resistance in the final session of the Lord’s Test.

England’s bigger worry will be in selecting the bowling group as they are already without Wood and Broad. There was an injury cloud over Anderson before the last Test and the hosts can’t afford to miss their premier bowler when others are already down and out.

There will be a temptation to include Craig Overton in place of Sam Curran, who bagged king pair at Lord’s. Saqib Mahmood, the latest entrant to the squad could also receive an England Test cap in place of Wood.

There are no hints from the English camp over the selection of Jack Leach, and the left armer will have to keep warming the benches while Moeen Ali, who brings the much-sought balance for the side will play at number seven.

Probable XI

Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (C), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran/Craig Overton, James Anderson, Saqib Mahmood, Ollie Robinson, 

India

India have fewer questions to search answer of compared to England but there are conundrums nevertheless. 

Shardul Thakur, who missed the last game due to a niggle, has passed the fitness test and is available to play at Headingley. It would interesting to see if Kohli goes back to the “template” he exuded so much confidence after a frustrating draw at Trent Bridge or he will continue with the fiery quartet after the spirited heist at Lord’s.

The 100-run partnership between Pujara and Rahane must have settled whatever rumours that were developing about the near future of the two senior men.

There will be tough choices on the selection of spinner as well with Ravichandran Ashwan waiting in the wings. If India choose to select Shardul over any of those four pacers, they can afford to play Ashwin at the number seven position. Either way, Kohli will have to take the tough call and he has been averse to them so far in the series.

Probable XI

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja/Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur/Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Fantasy XI

Rishabh Pant, Joe Root(C), KL Rahul(VC), Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli,, Jasprit Bumrah, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj