Big picture
It would have been a shame to put the pitch and the Ahmedabad ball on stage, as both of them stole the critics ’attention after the third Test was only two nights away. But then, that would be like letting some famous scenes pull away from the actors and there’s a lot more to play here. Crucially for India, they cannot lose money in one place if they are to reach the final of the World Test against New Zealand in June. But they only have to pull to get there.
England, with whom they lost heavily within two days last week denying that they were expecting the big dance, have moved the statement towards what would be a draw. the 2-2 series means. With India having not lost two Tests in a home series since 2012 and the margins of their last two wins – 317 runs in the second Test and 10 wikis in the third – it would be quite something for England to turn things around. back.
To do that, however, they need a non-performing battery command. While this game, starting Thursday, will be played throughout the day with a return to the red ball, both sides expect more of the same from the steep surface at Narendra Modi Stadium. The fact that Joe Root got more scratches in the first innings of the series than his entire team did in the next five points is hard to notice and when he went into the big -some in the struggle with the bat in the latest game, they needed someone else to step up. Zak Crawley partially did that, saying it was early for his half-century. Given that Rory Burns has consistently opened for Crawley’s return from injury and that an unlikely replacement is the only reasonable change of bats available, they need to improve from within the line-up. ‘ann.
Admitting themselves, England selected their lines for the third Test, thinking the pink ball under lights would offer more to their sailors and go with just one special spinner in it. the Jack Leach as Root picked up a five-wicket shot with his part-time offspin. That puts Dom Bess in the frame for a recall, having been left out of the previous two games, where the Indian spinners got the upper hand. Axar Patel now has 18 wikis at 9.44 from two career tests – both of which England lost during this series – and R Ashwin has played all three for 24 wikis at 15.70. There has been an illness inside the tour camp, although they were all trained Tuesday and Root was confident a full squad was available.
Form instructions
(last five completed games, most recent first)
England LLWWW
India WWLWD
In mind
Dom Bess was relegated for the second and third Tests, having taken 17 wikis at 22.75 over the two Tests in England in Sri Lanka and the first Test in Chennai – which all England won. In that time he also gained an average of 22.75 with the bat and, if England ‘s third – test innings of 112 and 81 are anything to go by, the order would be welcome down.
Despite his credible record on this tour, there was a feeling that Bess at times boasted ugly. He put down 19 full throws in the Opening Test in Chennai and, evaluating his own first five days in Galle, said: “I didn’t feel like I was bowling very well”. But as he is young and learning in the toughest conditions, there were legitimate questions that would do the most harm to his confidence, sticking with or letting go. It was easy enough to let go when England had someone with Moeen Ali experience to replace him for the second India Test and fall for a heavyweight attack in the third. But with Moeen sent home to relax and spin heavily in play here, he could have been asked to regain England’s faith.
It may be difficult to question Virat Kohli as he has three half-centuries from his last six test innings, including his 62 second innings in response to his first-innings duck in Chennai. But such pressure is expected to have gone 11 innings from his last ton – against Bangladesh at the end of 2019 – that questions have indeed been asked. Scores 11, 72, 0, 62 and 27 against England suggest that the hunger will have made an even bigger contribution, especially with a chance of being promoted to the WTC show. But while he is content with the pitches in this series going against what he has returned, he is not aware. After describing the bat from both sides in the third Test as “not up to standard” he said on the night before this match that he personally felt “in no hurry or despair”, while his side won.
Team news
With Bess possibly included, one of England’s sailors would make way, perhaps Stuart Broad, who is without a wicket from the two games he played. After getting himself good with four wickets in the second Test in Chennai, Olly Stone could come in for Jofra Archer, who has taken four wickets from his two games, although Mark Wood is also waiting in the wings after taking a break for the first half of the series.
With Jasprit Bumrah out for personal reasons as India manage his workload, Umesh Yadav could join the India line, appropriate again after injuring his calf in Australia and apparently keeping the edge over Mohammed Siraj. Another thing, it’s hard to see the guests tinkering more with a successful side.
England (able): 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Dom Sibley, 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Dom Bess, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Stuart Broad / James Anderson
India (able): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (captain), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishab Pant (wk), 7 Ravichandran Ashwin, 8 Washington Sunar, 9 Axar Patel, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav
Park and conditions
A surface similar to the last one is expected for this Test and, from a product point of view, that should reasonably serve India, even though Joe Root’s stunning bowling figures are a reminder that they also batter better to protect against misfortune. Temperature forecasts in the high 30s Celsius throughout make one certainty, it will be a scorcher.
Stats and trivia
- India have not lost a series at home since 2012, against England
- If Root wins from his men, it will draw clearly from Michael Vaughan as England’s most successful Test captain with 27 wins
- India has not lost two trials in a home series since 2012
- Yadav is four wickets away from becoming the fifth fastest player from India to pick up 100 wickets at home
Valkerie Baynes is general editor of ESPNcricinfo