England vs India 2018: 5 Things to look forward to in the upcoming Test series
India’s much-anticipated and much-awaited 11-week England tour has seen two limited-overs series go by. And at the end of 6 limited-overs games (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs), things stand pretty even. India got the better of England in the T20I series beating them 2-1 while the No. 1 ODI team England showed why they are the top ODI side in the world when they came from behind and beat Virat Kohli and co 2-1.
Now, the focus shifts to the Test series. There has been a big build-up to this 5-match Test series. India have named an 18-man squad while England are yet to confirm their side. England absolutely demolished India in the last two series in England. In 2011, the hosts whitewashed India 4-0 and in 2014, despite having a 1-0 lead after the first two Tests, they lost to Alastair Cook’s England 1-3.
This will be a stern test for Virat Kohli and his team but don’t forget, England haven’t been in the best red-ball form in the last few years and have been quite inconsistent. In fact, since the start of 2014, they have won three consecutive Test matches only twice.
Hence, it promises to be an enthralling and exciting series. Thus, with the Test series just over a week away, let’s look at some things to look forward to in this mega blockbuster series.
Virat Kohli and his England record
England could well be termed as Virat Kohli’s final frontier in Test cricket. The Indian captain had a miserable tour in 2014 where he could only manage 134 runs in 10 innings. The England bowlers exploited his weakness outside the off-stump.
However, Virat Kohli is a very different batsman now. Since that England tour in 2014, the Indian skipper has scored 3699 runs in 61 innings at a super average of 64.89. He has scored 15 hundreds as well during this period. Moreover, he averages 58.46 away from home since that tour.
He was India’s best batsman when India toured South Africa earlier this year and there is no doubt that Kohli will once again be the key man in this 5-match Test series. Kohli wants to do well and it is evident from the fact that he wanted to play County cricket before this England tour. However, a neck injury ruled him out of his month-long stint at Surrey.
But Kohli seems to be in a good zone. He was India’s highest run-getter in the ODI series and seems to be in good shape. Hence, not only will Kohli want to better his record in England but also lead from the front.