India vs England 2016: 5 key player battles
The rampaging Indian Test team led by Virat Kohli is due to embark on its toughest home assignment so far as they take on England in a five-match Test series. While the Englishmen may have the psychological edge as they won their last series here and also vanquished the Indians at home in 2014, it may all count for nothing when the two sides take the field on 9 November for the 1st Test at Rajkot.
Both teams have some fantastic players in their ranks, a few of whom are counted among the best in the world at present. India boast of world beaters like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin whereas stars like Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Stuart Broad have been the heroes for England in Test cricket.
Apart from the greater battle which will be fought between the two sides on the field, there will be a number of mini-battles between individuals from the teams and the result of the series may end up being determined by which team wins more of them.
Here are 5 key player battles which will be of utmost importance in the India-England Test series:
#5 Ravindra Jadeja – Joe Root
Indian left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has been a real force to reckon with in home conditions over the past few years. The most outstanding fact about Jadeja’s performance has been the manner in which he has dominated some of the best batsmen in the opposition side.
The Baroda all-rounder dismissed former Australian skipper Michael Clarke 5 times in 3 Tests during the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Apart from that, he has dismissed top Proteas batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis 4 times each and also accounted for Hashim Amla thrice.
In recent times, Joe Root has clearly been England’s batting star and is also among the finest batsmen of this generation. Considering Ravindra Jadeja’s knack of getting the big players out, he may be fancying his chances against Root, whose wicket he has already claimed twice in his career.
The battle between the accurate left-arm spinner and the supremely talented batsman will surely be one to watch out for.