From the highs of Lord’s, India were quickly grounded at Headingley. Bowled out for 78 on a batting-friendly surface, they eventually lost the Test match. The series has moved back to London again, this time to the southern part of the city, at The Oval. With the five-match series currently level 1-1, England’s oldest Test centre is all set to host the all-important fourth Test match from Thursday, 2 September.
In past few years, this particular Indian team has made a reputation for turning things around after being pushed back. After being bowled out for a humiliating 36 in Adelaide, they came back dramatically to win the series. Even against England at home, they went down 0-1 in Chennai but bounced back to win the next three matches to qualify for the World Test Championship final.
‘We like to be in this situation where people start coming at us with doubts and start questioning our ability. That is the situation we love best. We will not be demoralised by this loss,’ assessed Virat Kohli while summing up the ongoing series. His team is no stranger to the back to wall situation.
However, against the rejuvenated English team, they will face a stern challenge. To overcome that they first need to recover mentally from the Leeds defeat within this short span of time, solve the batting woes, and most importantly, getting the combination right at this batsman-friendly venue.
While Cheteshwar Pujara got runs in two of his last three innings, Ajinkya Rahane’s form remains a huge concern. They might drop him for Hanuma Vihari and go with five bowlers.
They also have the option of continuing with Rahane and replacing a bowler with Vihari to bolster the struggling batting order, but Kohli, a firm believer in the five-bowler combination, is unlikely to drop a specialist bowler for an extra batter.
Meanwhile, considering the spinners’ track-record at the Oval, the think-tank may be inclined towards playing both Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin. In that case, the struggling Ishant Sharma will sit out on his birthday. They also have Shardul Thakur as an option.
England, too, are looking for new combinations after Jos Buttler opted out of the last two Tests to attend the birth of his second child. In his absence, Jonny Bairstow will take up wicketkeeping duties, while Ollie Pope or Dan Lawrence may play as a specialist batter.
Mark Wood and Chris Woakes are both fit. One of them may replace Sam Curran, who has not had an impact in the series yet. Despite an impressive show at Headingley, Craig Overton may also have to sit out if England decide to play both Woakes and Wood – unless, of course, they decide to rest one of James Anderson or Ollie Robinson.
England have won their last three Tests at the Oval and will ride on the momentum from Headingley to take a lead in the series. For India, it will be all out defining the odds at this ground where their last – and one of their greatest – Test triumph came fifty years ago.
Likely XIs
India: K.L. Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ollie Pope, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, James Anderson
– Largely due to the assistance it provides to spinners, The Oval has traditionally been a bat-first pitch. Back the team winning the toss to bat and put up 350 or more.
– K.L. Rahul and Rohit Sharma have been in good batting form. Considering the batting-friendly nature of the surface here, you can pick both in your fantasy teams.
– Joe Root will be yet again be an ideal choice for the captain’s role. Along with him you can pick someone like Rory Burns or Jonny Bairstow.
Prediction
In-form England will topple India and take 2-1 lead in the series.
BlitzPools Fantasy XI
