Another India vs England Test encounter is upon us and no one’s complaining. These are two top Test sides in the world, never mind the gap in the world rankings. Whenever India take on England, the crowds will fill up the seats at the ground, the TV viewership will go up and the surely the cricket will be of top class.
This could be a one-off Test for some but only a naive at this sport can miss the context, and eventually the fun. This isn’t any other Test. It is the all-important fifth Test of a series fought very closely last year.
Had the series not come to a halt courtesy a flurry of Covid-19 cases in Indian camp, the visitors could have run away with the trophy. They were in that sort of a form. But can we say the same today? I am not very sure. England are coming into this Test match on back of a dominant Test series win over New Zealand at home. This is a new dawn for English Test side with Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as coach. This is a new team with a new vigor and they are here to win the world. They ran over the World Test champions at home but now standing firm on their path are some resilient Indians. They have been brilliant away from home in the past few years but this Indian team will have its task cut out in this ultimate Test that decides the series.
England are confident
England’s Test side has undergone significant changes and those which have worked wonders so far. The 3-0 drubbing of Black Caps is a good example. They have never played like this at home. Not in the recent past, to say the least. With some rejig, the Test side is delivering the goods, their confidence is back and to India’s dismay, they are in superb form. Not just the wins but the manner in which England beat Kiwis in 3 Tests is proof that they have got their bite back. They have a unit where players have freedom, Jonny Bairstow being the best of examples. What he and Stokes did in the last session of the day in 2nd Test was simply breathtaking. To chase down 160 off 16 overs is a ridiculous ask but they made it look super easy. Would Joe Root’s team have attempted that? There would be doubts. This Ben Stokes’ team is enjoying a sense of liberty that was missing earlier.
The other exciting talent England have discovered is Matthew Potts. He finished the series with 14 wickets in 3 games. He really is a special player. The Durham academy graduate consistently made Kane Williamson struggle and would be quite a handy pick vs the Indians with many righthanders in their team. He has this ability to angle it into the right handers and at the same time, move it away from them, managing to find the outside edges. Not to forget, James Anderson, who in my opinion, would play vs India with Stuart Broad taking a back seat for he looked weary in the last Test vs NZ. The other positives for England are Ollie Pope, who has stepped up nicely to be a No 3 and Joe Root, of course, the mainstay, the one who will help England tackle Indian spinners. If there is one worry in the lineup, it is Zak Crawley who has struggled for runs with the bat. It could be a make-or-break game for him if he finds a place in the side.
India to take up challenge with some big names missing
It is ironic that a side which leads 2-1 in the series and won the fourth Test, starts the fifth as the underdog. India were brilliant last year with two wins. And what is so unfortunate is that one of the architects of these wins is set to miss the fifth Test. Rohit Sharma, who was also to lead the side in this Test, didn’t just give India good starts in the earlier four matches but prepared a solid base for others. It was possibly his best show abroad with the bat, scoring 368 runs including a hundred. And his absence will be a double blow as India will not only be missing a solid Test opener but their captain as well. What makes it worse is that his second-in command KL Rahul will also not feature in the XI as he is down with a groin injury.
The Rohit-Rahul pair gave England many a headache last year. With them not playing, the onus drops on Virats and Pujaras. It would be exciting how Shubman Gill goes too. He is a fine player who dealt well with pace and bounce in Australian conditions but against the duke ball in English conditions where Anderson and Co thrive, will he excel? That is one question he will be answering soon. India will have a new opening pair, maybe with Gill and Pujara at the top. And if that happens, then I would like to see Hanuma Vihari at 3 and Shreyas Iyer at 5. Vihari’s experience of playing in Birmingham conditions could come to good use as he played at Warwickshire for a bit last year as their overseas player.
At Edgbaston, India may opt for 3 seamers and 2 spinners combination as the pitch here dries out rather quickly. If the pitch is dry, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will certainly play. As far as pace is concerned, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will be a deadly combination with Mohammed Siraj being the third seamer. It will be a big game for Bumrah if Rohit misses out as he will then lead the side. Despite Rohit and Rahul missing, India have plenty of positives. They have Virat, who is hungry for runs, Pujara, who has been among runs recently in England, a side which has done well overseas in the recent past and a coach in Rahul Dravid. The only question remains is: will they be able to hit the ground running from the word go?
