India vs England 2016: India's predicted XI for the third Test

The Indian Test team’s juggernaut, which was halted in Rajkot by England, resumed in Vizag as they registered a comprehensive win over the visitors. India displayed all-round professionalism on the field, where they rode on Virat Kohli’s batting, and Ravichandran Ashwin’s eight wickets in the match.

Another player, who impressed everyone in Vizag, was the debutant from Haryana, Jayant Yadav. Not only did Yadav bowl tightly throughout the match, also taking four wickets in the process, but he also displayed a lot of character with the bat, coming lower down the order.

The pitch in Vizag assisted the spinners, and hence India went with three spinners, and two fast bowlers. The Mohali pitch, which has historically suited the quick bowlers, has over the years slowed down and should spin day two onwards. Last year, India played a low scoring Test against South Africa in Mohali on a wicket that turned out to be a rank-turner. The pitch for tomorrow's match will, once again, not possess much grass, and the toss should play a crucial role. The team batting first would look to bat first, and put runs on the board.

Given the pitch conditions, current form of players, and injury to Wriddhiman Saha, this is what India’s playing eleven in Mohali should look like:

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#1 Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay had a rather subdued outing in Vizag, where he scored 20 and 3 respectively in the two innings. The Vizag failure was a one off thing for Vijay, and he has been in fine form recently. Infact, Vijay was on song in Rajkot, where he scored a superb hundred in the first innings. He is one player who has been consistently scoring runs at the top of the order for India. The flamboyant opener likes the ball getting on to the bat, and should enjoy playing in Mohali, where the surface is true and hard.

Vijay has the remarkable ability to adjust his game to different situations – since both attack and defence come naturally to him.