India will square off against England in the opening Test match of the five-match series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad from Thursday onwards. Both teams will aim to draw first blood in the series and bring their best to the table.
England has won 13 out of their last 19 Test matches with Bazball and it will be interesting to see their approach on turning pitches. It will be challenging for the visitors as India has a lot of quality in their spin department.
Stats Preview:
India’s talisman spinner Ravichandran Ashwin needs 10 more wickets to complete 500 Test wickets. He will become the second Indian spinner after Anil Kumble to reach the milestone.
India’s gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah needs another 10 wickets to get to the landmark of 150 wickets in Test format.
England’s veteran batter Joe Root needs 84 runs to complete 11500 runs in the red-ball version.
England skipper Ben Stokes, who might not bowl a lot due to knee issues, needs another three wickets to reach 200 wickets milestone.
Jonny Bairstow requires 196 runs to complete 6000 runs in the oldest format.
England’s spearhead James Anderson requires 10 more wickets to become the first fast bowler to reach the mountain of 700 wickets. Anderson will become the third bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne to breach the landmark.
Jack Leach needs 54 runs to complete 500 runs in Test cricket.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan.
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.
