IND vs ENG | 4th Test Preview: Battered England seek redemption, India eye WTC final

India is a tough place for visiting teams and stats back the assertion as the home side had lost only one game in four years before the start of the series against England. Three Test matches later, the series is still alive and the tourists have a massive chance of denying India the chance of winning the Test series, that too at home.

No one gave Joe Root’s side any chance before the start of the series, and that they still stand a chance to square the four-match long Test series is nothing short of remarkable for them. 

At the start of the series, India were high on historic triumph in Australia while missing the first-choice players and the return of players of the calibre of Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin did not only make the task look like a herculean one for Root’s men, but all agreed that they would need to play out of their skin to outdo India in their own condition, which they did in the first Test of the series to everyone’s surprise.

 India were defeated on their own peril as England batsmen batted for a longer period of time than their Indian counterparts, while their spinners bowled with better control and luck than Indians, who are believed to be the pioneer in such conditions. The mode of batting big in the first innings and then unleashing spinners on the opposition batsmen have been India’s mantra for success in home conditions but in the first Test, they were at the receiving end of execution of those plans.

However, the jubilation for England was short-lived as India gave up the idea of outweighing opponents on flat pitches, and the surface used for the next two Tests played right into their hands. Balls spun considerably in the last two Tests, and while both batting units struggled for runs in Chennai and Ahmedabad, it was England who were found wanting on spinning pitches.

It took a big defeat in the first Test for the dominant, aggressive India to come back in the series, but the moment they went past the Joe Root hurdle in the first innings of the second Test, there was no let-up for the English batsmen. 

The ‘juggernaut’ did not stop in Ahmedabad as well with the pink ball offering to aid more tricks and turns than the red ball. The sides could not have picked any different sides than they fielded in the last Test, with India opting for two pacers and three spinners combination while England going for a four-pronged pace attack, and Jack Leach as the sole spinner. 

By the end of the first session of the second day, which turned out to be the last of the game, Root would have accepted in his mind that he along with the team management got the selection wrong.

England made a brilliant start in the series, but what every pundits and fan expected right from the start, India came roaring back in the series to stamp their authority on the series.

Their openers have looked far more assured at the crease, although Shubman Gill has not been able to go big and has departed before settling in. Their number three --Cheteshwar Pujara has gone into an unusual slump, but Rohit Sharma has left his mark on the longest format of the game in the last two Tests. He has looked seamless on pitches other batsmen have found challenging and was miles ahead of the others in the second Test where he single-handedly took India to a position of strength.

A century has been eluding for Virat Kohli for a long period of time now, but he has not looked out of sorts, and every time he sets himself at the batting crease, that century does not appear far away from his reach. He would be itching to get out there and finish the series on high of the three-figure mark.

The bowling department has looked as rich as it has looked in the recent past with the newest entrant-- Axar Patel barely allowing fans and Kohli to miss Ravindra Jadeja. He has been deadly accurate on pitches that have supported his style of bowling which relies heavily on natural variations.

From the other end, Ravichandran Ashwin has been going on his merry way like it has been in the past. He reached the 400 Test wickets-mark in the last Test, and there is no shortage of hunger in his belly and variations from his fingers to make life any easier for the English team.

India will be hungrier for winning the final Test as it stands between them and a spot in the final of the World Test Championship. Earlier, Kohli had downplayed their desire and desperation to play and win the Championship, but two test specialists in Rahane and Ishant Sharma have reiterated that winning the championship final at Lord’s will taste as sweet as winning an ODI World Cup, and hence the onus is on India to make the move, although England have to win the game in order to save the series.

The odds are once again stacked against England with India now in the top-notch form at least in the spin department. Can Joe Root inspire his team once more, or there will be another stroll in the park for the Indians in the series decider.

India vs England: Match Details

Match No.-04

Date and Time: March 04 -08, 9:30 pm IST, 04:00 am IST

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports, Hotstar

Pitch conditions

The pitch in the third Test garnered a lot of headlines for the wrong reasons. It supported turn and bounce from the first day, while spinners also enjoyed success from the pace off the pitch which led to a lot of dismissals by LBW.

England would be dishonest to themselves if they are expecting anything other than a pitch that offers turn from the very first day, and India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said that they are expecting another similar pitch to that of the third one.

Batsmen from either side however will be hoping the return of the red ball will make their life easier as it will not jump off the surface at a quick pace as the pink ball did in the last Test.

Team News

India

Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the squad for the final Test of the series, and there is a certainty of one change in the Indian playing XI.

India would be keen to relook at the composition of their spin attack after adding the batting cushion of  Washington Sundar. Kuldeep Yadav should walk back in the XI as the third spinner.

Among pacers, there is a toss-up between Umesh Yadav who has returned after missing out due to injury and Mohammed Siraj who has made a name for himself on the back of strong performances. One school of thought will also be to rest Ishant Sharma who has played in all the three Test matches of this series. However, Kohli will be reluctant to bank upon the duo who has not had game time in the middle in the recent past.

Strongest XI

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav

England

The losses in the last two Tests must have left England team management searching for answers to some key questions about people suitable for various roles. 

Both Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow came back into the playing XI after a long break, and while the former looked in ominous touch before getting out in the first innings, the latter clearly looked out of place, both technically and mentally.

Ollie Pope who has been rated very highly by the England team management has looked like a fish forced out of the water, and both Ashwin and Axar have got the better of him in the last two Tests. He clearly lacked the temperament, apart from the obvious technical flaws that Ashwin exposed in the last game.

England have already made a tough decision of dropping Rory Burns because of a poor run of form after he came into the team in the first Test against India, and dropping Bairstow will be like creating more problems than finding solutions to the pre-existing problems.

One argument is doing rounds that England should swap the batting positions of Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow as it will provide better options looking at the future of the team.

England have a lot of pondering to do in the selection of their bowlers for the fourth Test. They miscalculated the pitch terribly, or they put too much money on their pacers to produce goods with the pink ball in the last game. With the return of the red ball, England should ideally go back to Dominic Bess, who will not be in a great state of mind after facing the axe in the last two Tests.

Strongest XI

Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wk), Olly Stone, Jack Leach, James Anderson, Dom Bess