India vs England Third Test: Preview and Predicted Playing XI
After hammering India in the first two Tests, England will now look to clinch the series in the third match at the Nottingham in Trent Bridge from Saturday, August 18. England have now played 114 test matches against India of which hosts have been able to win 45, while visitors won 25 of those.
England are unsurprisingly red hot favourites to beat India on the back of their performance at Lord’s. But one must not underestimate Indian lineup who have the ability to thrash any opponent on their day. So, we might expect it to be a close encounter at Trent Bridge.
England: The hosts have been absolutely clinical in both the batting and bowling departments in this series. While they won the first test match by 31 runs. They cantered to an innings and 159 run win in the second test.
The British batting line-up has fired each time. Jonny Bairstow continued his fine form with 93 runs in the second test, and shared a massive 189 run partnership with Chris Woakes; who marked his return to the team with a 137 run man of the match performance. While skipper Joe Root scored just 19 runs at Lord's and will be eager to make a strong comeback in the third Test.
With the ball, James Anderson will once again be a go-to man for the hosts. He claimed nine wickets in the previous match at Lord's, to pass 100 wickets at the home of cricket. Ominously for India, he also boasts a superb record at Trent Bridge, where he has claimed 60 wickets in nine matches at an average of 18.95. He has twice claimed ten in a match in Nottingham.
Stuart Broad took five wickets at Lord's and will be eager to replicate his performance at Trent Bridge, which is his home ground. While comeback man Woakes starred with bowl as well, he weighed in with two wickets in each innings, including the Kohli in the first.
Expected Playing XI: Joe Root (C), Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, Adil Rashid, James Anderson, Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings.
India: The visitors have now lost their last five test fixtures on English soil in a row. While India have won just six out of 59 tests they have played on British soil.
With the bat, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara were sole performers for visitors in this series. While Ravichandran Ashwin, who was the top scorer in both innings of the second test with 29 and 33 runs clearly demonstrate the condition of Indian batting. Indians need to come out with a much better batting performance in third one else it'll once again be a cakewalk for hosts.
With the ball, Mohammed Shami ended with 3/96 at Lord's will be visitors main weapon in the third test as well. While the return Jasprit Bumrah is a big boost for the team ahead of the clash who along with Ashwin, who boasts strong bowling record against the hosts and are expected to fire in next fixture.
Expected Playing XI: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya or Murli Vijay, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Lokesh Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara.