England vs India, 3rd Test: 5 Indians who will need to stand up and deliver
It has been just under four years since Virat Kohli took over the captaincy reins from MS Dhoni in Test cricket and rarely has there been a time when he and his side have been under the pump as they have been now, heading into the third Test of the five-match series against England, at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
Down 0-2 in the series, India have to ensure they get a positive result in this game to stay in the reckoning to win or draw the rubber and the challenge of doing that will possibly be the greatest for quite a few players in this squad.
Cricket may be a team game, but giant individual contributions go a great way to ensure whether a side wins or loses. For India, the following five players will surely hold the key if they are to stay alive.
Murali Vijay
We start right at the top. There has been so much talk about the form and performance of Shikhar Dhawan in testing conditions that we have almost forgotten the hardships which Murali Vijay has faced in recent times.
The right-hander fell for a pair at Lord's and prior to that, his scores in the last five innings overseas read: 20, 6, 8, 25 and 46. He does have a century under his belt this year that came against Afghanistan at Bengaluru, but has little else of note.
Runs from Vijay's bat have been vital for India in past overseas tours, where he has served as the rock around the rest have built the edifice and how he fares with the bat at Nottingham will once again be crucial if India are to post a big total on the board.