England vs India: 5 reasons why India can win Test series in England
A captain’s legacy and his team’s ability are majorly judged by performances inflicted overseas. Indian cricket has always been devoid of the overseas win until Sourav Ganguly and his side showed us that winning in alien conditions wasn't a daunting task. At the turn of 21st century, the Indian team was under safe hands as they witnessed a dream run over a period of next five years.
It included the men in blue reaching the finals in 2003 World Cup and a remarkable series win over Australia at home. But what stood out was the overseas Test victories in Australia and England. The conditions were tough to handle and demanded character and the team didn't back out on both the occasions.
Once again India is on the cusp of making history as a determined squad led by Virat Kohli is scheduled to play a 5-match Test series in England beginning this August. Many consider this as India’s best chance to win a Test series abroad as several reasons go in favour of the visitors to term them as firm favourites against the weakened England side.
We look at some of the reasons why India can surprise the hosts and continue to rule their supremacy even in overseas conditions.
#1 All-dimensional pace attack that assures reliability
This will be the very first time when India would fancy their chances against the English merely on the basis of their quality pace attack. The attack possesses variety with each bowler having his own speciality that sets him apart from the rest. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the crucial ability to swing the ball and in what better place than England, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami are good proponents of reverse swing bowling while Ishant Sharma has enough experience of bowling in English conditions and Jasprit Bumrah can be cunningly deceptive with his awkward action.
The team will gain confidence from their last overseas outing against South Africa where, in each Test match, the bowlers managed to pick up 20 wickets. The hosts will be in a state of a dilemma to offer a green top to the visitors as even their batsmen will face a tough time against the potent Indian bowling attack which is capable of exploiting the friendly conditions and go past any batting order. If Indians can put up runs in excess of 350 on the board then this would spice up things as this bowling unit would definitely give the hosts a run for their money.