IND vs ENG, 4th Test | Playing 11 Prediction, Cricket Tips, Preview & Live Streaming

Rohit Sharma & Jadeja after India's win in Rajkot (AP)

India and England lock horns for the penultimate Test of the five-match series in Ranchi, with the riveting and high-intense series beautifully poised at a 2-1 scoreline in the home team's favour. It's a challenge for the visitors rallying on the 'Bazball' wave to bounce back in the rubber. 

India stand the chance to take an unassailable lead, with another victory and retain their dominant home streak, while for England, a win is a must if they are to not just keep the series alive but also maintain their own unbeaten streak under Ben Stokes' captaincy regime.

IND vs ENG: Team Previews 

India 

India will have a choice to make depending on the kind of surface they've prepared for England: whether to replace their rested ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah with another seamer or pick an extra spinner in the line-up.

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Reports have suggested the likelihood of Bengal seamer Akash Deep making his debut in the Test match unless the team management feels a dry, turning pitch should give left-arm spinner Axar Patel a backdoor entry into the playing XI. 

Either way, India would hope to also solve their batting issues after being reduced to 33/3 on Day 1 of the Rajkot Test and struggling newcomer Rajat Patidar will be the one under most scrutiny after his four consecutive failings since his debut in Vizag. Do India persist with him or bring in in-form debutant Devdutt Padikkal? It will be interesting to watch. 

England 

England look set to rest their veteran pacer James Anderson and express speedster Mark Wood and could return to the one pacer and three spinners combo in the Ranchi Test, with backup seamer Ollie Robinson and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir potentially making a return, especially if skipper Stokes does finally bowl again.

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Talk from the England camp about the surface in Ranchi suggested they believe the pitch will turn sharply, thus making it increasingly likely that they will play the combination that served them well with a win in the first Test in Hyderabad.

No other change is expected from an England side that would be backing its batting line-up despite two horrific collapses in the previous Test in Rajkot.

IND vs ENG: Match Details & Live Streaming

IND vs ENG: Ranchi Pitch Report

Speculations are rife if this will be a turning pitch, especially with India resting Bumrah and looking to empower their spinners against an England side that will be under the pump after their collapses in the previous Test. Ranchi has historically been one of the better batting surfaces in India, with the home side piling on heaps of runs in the previous two Tests played there in 2017 and 2019 versus Australia and South Africa. Maybe the initial look of the pitch could deceive both sides, and it might only be a traditional pitch, which worsens for batting gradually over the last two days.

IND vs ENG: Probable Playing XIs

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Ollie Robinson

IND vs ENG: Cricket Exchange Fantasy Tips

IND vs ENG: Winner Prediction

India have completely transformed the narrative and the momentum of the series after their pair of wins in Vizag and Rajkot, and they do start the game in Ranchi as slight favourites to clinch the series with an unassailable edge.

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