The series is currently tied at 1-1 | Source: X.com
Team India, with less experience under their belt will go head-to-head against England in the third Test of the five-match series starting on Thursday, February 15th at Saurashtra Cricket Stadium in Rajkot.
The five-game test series is currently level at 1–1, with England narrowly winning the series opener by 28 runs and Team India bouncing back with a commanding 108-run win in the second test at Vizag.
IND vs ENG 3rd Test Previews
India
Since the series kicked off, Team India has been taking hit after hit. First, Virat Kohli sat out the first two tests for personal reasons, and now it has been confirmed that the batting maverick will be out for the rest of the series as well.
Adding to the woes, KL Rahul, the standout performer in the series opener at Hyderabad who also missed the second Test, won't be featuring in the third either due to his ongoing quad injury recovery.
The Karnataka batter, Devdutt Padikkal steps in for KL Rahul in the third Test squad, but it's likely Sarfaraz Khan will debut, following the pecking order. And with Shreyas Iyer out, Rajat Patidar slots into the middle order.
A silver lining for Team India amidst the setbacks is the comeback of their star all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, who sat out the second test with a hamstring injury. The bowling lineup is expected to remain unchanged from the second test.
With several seasoned batters sidelined, Team India enters this match with a relatively inexperienced batting order. It remains to be seen if they can still assert dominance over England.
England
On the other hand, England's got their own troubles, with main spinner Jack Leach out for the rest of the series against India. It means they are a bit short on experienced spinners.
Furthermore, the visitors look solid and have lived up to their reputation. They have also silenced critics with their bold playing style in India, which has worked in their favour in the series opener.
Still, going into this match, England has an advantage over Team India, who are facing upheavals and a roster of newbies. It could make things smoother for the visitors.
However, England must ensure that their aggressive play doesn't come back to haunt them, as it did in the second test at Vizag.
While chasing a big target in the fourth innings, the English batters got off to a promising start but couldn't make it count and lost their wickets with an exception of Zak Crawely.
IND vs ENG 3rd Test Match Details
| Date & Time | February 15, 9:30 PM IST |
| Venue | Saurashtra Cricket Stadium, Rajkot |
| Live Broadcast & Streaming Details | Sports18 Network and JioCinema |
Saurashtra Cricket Stadium Pitch Report
The pitch in Rajkot is set to be a cracker for the 3rd Test. With the Indian management requesting a slow turner, we can expect spinners to come into play early. The fast bowlers will have to put in extraordinary effort to extract assistance and take wickets here.
IND vs ENG 3rd Test Probable Playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Ollie Robinson
IND vs ENG 3rd Test Cricket Exchange Fantasy Tips
| Roles | Players |
|---|---|
| Wicketkeepers | Sarfaraz Khan |
| Batters | Ben Stokes, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal |
| All-rounders | Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Joe Root, Axar Patel |
| Bowlers | Jasprit Bumrah, Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed |
| Captain | Ravindra Jadeja |
| Vice-Captain | Joe Root |
IND vs ENG 3rd Test Match Prediction
From what we see on paper, England appear to have a more well-rounded and experienced batting order compared to Team India. However, Team India seems to have their bowling lineup sorted out. So, India might just have a slight edge going into this one.
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