The fight between India and England (IND vs ENG) will kick off from today at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. This is the final match of last year’s 5-match test series between the two teams. This match is the deciding match of the series. Currently, the Indian team is up 2-1 in four games in this series. In such a situation, the India team is trying to win the Test series in England once again after 15 years with the help of win or draw. At the same time, to bring this series up to England level, they will have to win the Edgbaston test at all costs.
England’s lead in the match looks a bit heavy. The reason is clear. England have recently made a clean sweep of New Zealand in the 3 match test series. The aggressive style in which England played Test cricket in this series was amazing. Captain Ben Stokes has made it clear that against the Indian team, his team will continue to play in the same style. In such a situation, it is like an alarm bell for the India team.
England’s middle order is very strong at the moment. Joe Root and Ben Stokes are continually scoring runs. On the other hand, Jonny Bairstow is playing fast tackles in Test cricket as T20. Olly Pop is also seen at the best moment of his career. In bowling, the pairing of Anderson and Stuart Broad looks aggressive again.
On the other hand, the Indian team lands in this match with a new captain. This is one of the biggest challenges. Team India may miss out on the opening pairing of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in this match. In the absence of this opening pair, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill can open for India. The problem for India is that the pair have not played big innings in the Tests for a long time. So Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are also not in their old groove. Shreyas Iyer is seen struggling in front of the fast bowlers and Rishabh Pant is also unable to show the game he is renowned for. However, the Indian team’s bowling attack is able to make up for the shortcomings of the batting.
The Edgbaston pitch is generally considered better for batting, although bowlers have dominated here on many occasions as well. This time there could also be a competition of equals. There is grass on the course and fast bowlers can get a good swing here. Here the ball can also bounce.
There is a chance of rain for the first two days of the game. According to weather reports from Birmingham, the chances of rain on the first day are greater than 50%. On the other hand, the probability of rain on the second day is 80%. The weather is likely to stay open here from the third day.
Alex Lees, Jack Crowley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Sam Billings (week), Matthew Potts, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson.
Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Cheteshwar Pujara/Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin/Shardul Thakur, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.