3 areas of concern for England ahead of the 4th Test against India
A week after a humiliating 10-wicket defeat to India in the two-day pink-ball Test, England will set foot on the Narendra Modi Stadium for the fourth and final encounter.
Joe Root's side are now out of contention for a spot in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). But they'd take a drawn series in India as a moral victory, and a good performance in the 4th Test will give them exactly that. England will also be able to spoil India's party, as the hosts need at least a draw to qualify for the WTC final.
England will have to play out of their skins to achieve the above. Here are 3 areas of concern for the visitors ahead of the 4th Test against India.
#3 Dom Bess' inconsistency might hurt England
England made the horrible decision of playing the 3rd Test with three frontline pacers, assuming that the pink ball would move under the lights. Jofra Archer, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad picked up a collective total of 1 wicket, leaving Joe Root to bring himself into the attack on a pitch that offered turn.
England won't make the same mistake in the 4th Test although Root scalped 5 wickets for just 8 runs in the first innings. Moeen Ali is back home, but Dom Bess - who warmed the bench in the 2nd and 3rd Tests - should make his way back into the team.
How potent a weapon is Bess? He scalped 4 wickets in one innings of the 1st Test, and on paper could serve as the perfect sidekick to left-arm spinner Jack Leach. But his inconsistency has let him down on a number of occasions in the recent past.
Bess has either been too full or too short very often, and has looked completely lost in some spells. While Root doesn't extract much turn from unsupportive surfacecs, he's fairly consistent with his speeds and areas.
Bess will mostly play the 4th Test, but it remains to be seen if the loose balls he bowls release pressure. If the wicket is anything like it was in the 3rd Test, those leaked runs might be game-changing.
#2 England's middle order has failed to step up
Positions 3 to 7 in the England batting order have failed to step up over the last two Tests. Jonny Bairstow, Dan Lawrence, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes don't have a single fifty to their names barring the 1st Test, and have often been sitting ducks against the Indian spinners.
Root has resorted to the sweep when he can, while Foakes has trusted his defence to hold up even when the ball is turning square. Bairstow was attacking in the preceding Sri Lanka series, and a couple of free-flowing shots might break the shackles of the pair he registered in the 3rd Test. Pope's place in the team is seriously under question, as he adds very little value as a specialist batsman at No. 6.
The England middle order needs to come up with clear plans to counter spin, and pile on the runs to put pressure on India.
#1 England don't have enough options on the bench
As mentioned above, the majority of England's batting lineup has failed to impress. But there aren't too many options on the bench, and this is due to the rotation policy they have been so adamant on abiding by.
Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali find themselves at home, and England are short on both batsmen and spinners. Dom Sibley has been found wanting in the last two Tests, but only Rory Burns - who was in fact less impressive - is on the bench as a reserve opener.
Surprisingly, England have beefed up their squad with a number of pacers. Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Olly Stone have all been part of the squad at some point during the ongoing series.
England's lack of bench strength has hurt them dearly. As Ian Bell mentioned earlier, this series has a lot at stake and there isn't much sense in rotating the best players.